Abuja, June 16 (Xinhua) -- China's desertification control program has helped Nigeria cope with the challenge of desertification
Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Jun
Kano State in northern Nigeria, adjacent to the Sahara Desert, Xinhua News Agency reporter recently made a special trip to the desert hinterland of the state to visit the desertification control project carried out by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Nigerian African Desertification Control Initiative, and experienced how China's program helps Nigeria cope with the challenge of desertification.
This is a desert-eroded village photographed in Kano State, Nigeria, on June 5. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Jun
As reporters drove out of downtown Kano, the capital of Kano state, buildings began to dwindle on both sides of the road, leaving a large expanse of yellow sand sparsely dotted with trees, grass and farmland. The crops in the fields looked listless as the leaves stumbled under the scorching sun. When passing some villages, you can also see piles of firewood on the side of the road. Omar Danradi Dahiru, head of Nigeria's African Desertification Control Initiative who traveled with reporters, said most people in Kano State, especially in rural areas, rely on wood for cooking and night lighting on a daily basis.
Dahiru said with some helplessness that Kano State has a dry climate, scarce precipitation and fragile land. Irrational land use and deforestation exacerbate land degradation and desertification due to population growth and increased livelihood needs.
A native of Kano State, 53-year-old Dahiru worked for Nigeria's Ministry of Agriculture more than 10 years ago out of concern about desertification in his hometown and a passion for environmental protection. He has travelled to China several times to attend training courses and seminars related to desertification control.
According to Nigerian media reports, due to climate change and the impact of human activities, more than 10 states in northern Nigeria on the edge of the Sahara Desert have been eroded by desert to varying degrees, affecting an area of about 580,000 square kilometers, accounting for about 63% of the total land area. A report on the FAO website identifies desertification, land degradation and drought as major obstacles to sustainable development in northern Nigeria.
This is the site of a desertification control project carried out by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Nigerian African Desertification Control Initiative in Kano State, Nigeria, on June 5. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Jun
After driving north for nearly an hour on a fairly paved asphalt road, our car turned onto a potholed dirt road, where the ground was more desertified on both sides, and the trees were becoming sparser and more of low bushes. After about half an hour of bumpy bumps on the dirt road, we finally arrived at a sandy area of about 4 hectares near the village of Gualmai in the Conchi district of Kano State, where the project is located.
Dahiru said the project, launched last year as part of the AU-led Great Green Wall initiative in Africa, is still in its infancy. With the financial and technical support of their Chinese partners, they selected 4 species from more than 10 native Nigerian tree species for trial planting and demonstrated them to local communities.
"We are mainly studying and demonstrating now, and local villagers can learn to do what we are doing when they see what we are doing," he said. ”
Maintainers plant saplings on June 5 at the site of a desertification control project carried out by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Kano State, Nigeria, in collaboration with the Nigerian African Desertification Control Initiative. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Jun
Dahiru said the biggest difficulty in the project is the lack of water, and they had drilled a well nearby, but some time ago a strong wind destroyed the water tower above the well, and the well was also unusable due to siltation, and two maintenance personnel of the project now need to draw water every day from the water point in the village of Guarmai, two kilometers away, to water the saplings.
Taminu Rawal, a former staff member at Nigeria's Ministry of Environment, left a year ago to join the Nigerian African Desertification Control Initiative and now leads a volunteer in the day-to-day maintenance of the project.
Maintainers plant saplings on June 5 at the site of a desertification control project carried out by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Kano State, Nigeria, in collaboration with the Nigerian African Desertification Control Initiative. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Jun
Every morning, where Raval lives in another village not far from Gualmai, he goes to Gualmai village to call volunteers, bring tools to fetch buckets of water at the water point, and then drive his motorcycle to the project site to water the saplings and dig pits to plant trees.
This is the site of a desertification control project carried out by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Nigerian African Desertification Control Initiative in Kano State, Nigeria, on June 5. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Jun
He pointed to the half-moon-shaped earthen pits in front of him and said that this shape of earthen pits is convenient for storing water and is conducive to the growth of saplings. He and his volunteers have just planted a small sapling, adding a touch of green to the sand.
Laval said that planting trees in desert areas faces many difficulties, in addition to water shortage, it is also necessary to consider how to mobilize local people to participate in the project. He said that he greatly admired the mobilization ability of the Chinese government and relevant institutions in major projects to combat desertification. He hopes to go to China to learn the sand control techniques of Chinese technicians on the spot.
This is the site of a desertification control project carried out by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Nigerian African Desertification Control Initiative in Kano State, Nigeria, on June 5. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Jun
There are currently more than 50 households in Gualmai village, and during the interview, the reporter saw that the village road and a small square were covered with thick yellow sand.
Project volunteer Bala Mohammed's family lives in the village of Gualmai, and outside their house is a small tree less than a person tall, the trunk of which is prominently surrounded by a vine-woven shield. He said it was a tree species from the project, because sometimes the wind and sand are very strong and need to be carefully cared for.
This is the site of a desertification control project carried out by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Nigerian African Desertification Control Initiative in Kano State, Nigeria, on June 5. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Jun
In recent years, he said, some people in the village have been unable to bear the growing wind and sand problems and have gone to the city to make a living, but many villagers are attached to their homeland and are reluctant to leave their homes. Now the project has given hope to the villagers, and more villagers are motivated by the project to help out and plant trees in front of and behind their houses.
Through her participation in the project, Barra learned about China's success stories in desertification control. He hopes that one day his village will become an oasis, although it may take a long time.