Beijing: Once a barren stretch of shifting dunes, the land now known as the Baijitan National Natural Reserve tells a remarkable story of ecological civilization and anti-desertification management efforts by the People’s Republic of China.
According to Ghana News Agency, many decades ago, this part of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, covering about 100,000 hectares, was plagued by advancing desertification. Sandstorms buried villages, collapsed ecosystems for wild animals, and threatened farmlands, compelling residents to live in constant fear of the encroaching desert.
Located five kilometers east of the Yellow River, the area was naturally prone to desertification. The sloped terrain from East to West allowed excess water from the Yellow River to wash sand pebbles and river buds into the area, creating uneven landscapes with heaps of sand. The low annual rainfall of about 170 millimeters further exacerbated the effects of desertification on the ecosystem, agriculture, and other industries reliant on local raw materials.
In the 1950s, inspired by Mr. Wang Youde, a hero of anti-desertification efforts, the local people, in collaboration with the Ningxia Forestry Bureau, transformed the area into a thriving green forest. With the establishment of the Baijitan National Anti-Desertification Centre under the management of the Ningxia Forestry Bureau, the vegetative cover was restored, and animals returned.
Using a technology termed as 1+4 Desert Control, which involves employing straw checkerboard squares to stabilize the sand before sowing grass seeds and planting seedlings, the desertification control effort gradually secured the land. “With almost 70 years of management, we have been able to restore more than 450 square kilometers of degraded area. We have also managed to push back the sand more than 20 kilometers, and vegetation coverage is about 41 percent,” Ji Wenlong, Deputy Director of the Baijitan National Anti-Desertification Centre, told journalists on a tour of the area.
In addition to the restored landscape, a game reserve with deer, a playground for children, resting areas, and restaurants have been established to serve as eco-tourism attractions and boost the local economy. The Deputy Director, speaking through an interpreter, Ms. Ma Ling, explained that the strategies adopted marked a shift from traditional individual tree planting to a group-based approach. This method, known as the bidding system, encouraged people to form groups, either as families or communities, to plant trees, motivating them to nurture the trees.
The area has become a learning curve for academic and industrial research, with a commitment to restoring lost indigenous trees and animals. The tour was part of a 14-day training program titled “Seminar for Senior Management of Mainstream Media in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative,” held in Beijing, China.
Organized by the China Broadcasting International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co., Ltd (CBIC) and sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the seminar brought together 30 senior managers and journalists from landlocked countries. The training is part of China’s commitment to strengthen international communication cooperation and promote the global adoption of Chinese technologies, standards, and products.
Mr. Albert Kofi Owusu, the General Manager of the Ghana News Agency, marveled at the history and transformation of the area and emphasized the need for African countries to integrate the ecological efforts of the Baijitan National Natural Reserve into their national restoration strategies.