Sean GallagherChina DialogueJune 25, 2009View this slideshow as it ran online
at ChinaDialogue.net. Text and captions also available in Mandarin. Desertification is the gradual transformation of arable and
habitable land into desert, normally caused by climate change or the
destructive use of land. Each year, desertification and drought
account
for US$42 billion loss in food productivity worldwide.
It is estimated that nearly 20% of China's land area, some 1.74
million square kilometres, is now classified
as desert. Affecting the
lives of an estimated 400 million people, it is one of the most
important environmental issues in China today.
Riding on China’s
“desertification train”, which passes
through the country’s driest and hardest-hit provinces – Inner
Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu and Xinjiang – Sean Gallagher travelled over4,000 kilometres to document the environmental challenges along the
route.
U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern arrives to give a news conference after attending a private meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in Cuernavaca, in ...
