The statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are repeated at the end of this article
We all know that in the northwest of the continent, there are a large number of deserts, and these areas with serious desertification occupy a large part of the continent's land area, bringing serious ecological problems and waste of natural resources. But the desert is not "indestructible", in fact, through artificial management, the desert can also become an "oasis", such as Inner Mongolia, which once spent a huge amount of investment to attract the water of the Yellow River, and solved the problem of a desert on a large scale, how did this happen?
1
Flooded rivers and deserts
The Yellow River, our "mother river". Even today, it is still the main source of irrigation and daily water in many of our areas, although it has begun to dry up gradually over the years, and even in some sections of the river there has been a large-scale water shortage, but we must know that the water flow is not static, in fact, in many areas during the peak of flooding, there will even be "water disasters".
The Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia is located on the edge of the Yellow River. As one of the largest deserts in China, in addition to bringing serious soil erosion, it will also cause a variety of sand and dust weather, such as many cities in the north of the mainland have been affected by sand and dust weather for a long time, and even for a long time, they are facing the threat of sand and dust storms. For example, some areas of Hebei and Beijing have suffered greatly.
And due to the continuous expansion of desertification, the living conditions of local residents are also deteriorating, "sand chasing people" is not an empty phrase in such a place, for a long time in history people are desert advance and retreat, desertification began to spread. In particular, some areas directly affected often have to rely on constant migration to escape the increasingly serious desert disasters.
Therefore, the governance of desert-related issues actually began not long after the founding of the People's Republic of China, but due to the level and concept of governance at that time, there was no way to form effective governance for a long time. This kind of situation where the river is overflowing, but the border is the spreading desert, makes many people in related industries worry, how to effectively manage the problems caused by the two?
In fact, we all know that one of the core problems of the desert is a very serious water shortage, and scholars have not thought about the idea of introducing overflowing river water into the desert, but the management of the desert is not such a simple matter, it is by no means a simple water diversion problem, but a highly comprehensive system engineering. In addition to attracting water, the most important thing is to be able to "retain water", otherwise it will not only fail to improve the environment of the desert, but may also cause further deterioration.
2
How to "retain water"
Therefore, in addition to "attracting water", special attention should be paid to vegetation restoration and protection, so as to restore the natural vitality and vitality of the soil, improve the quality structure of the soil and let it "self-improve", so as to form a systematic sand control project. Improving the sustainable use of local water resources, and scientific and technological support and innovation are also key elements to improve governance. In this way, it is not difficult to understand the local governance steps.
The first is to plant trees, which is the "easiest" and "most difficult" step, simple because in fact, the tree itself does not have any special technical content, after measuring the location and hole position, only need to manually plant the seedlings, but the difficulty is that this is not a day, two days, a year or two years, or even one or two people, but decades of continuous persistence, countless manpower input, these specially selected saplings of windbreak and sand fixation constitute an "ecological Great Wall".
It not only greatly improved the local environmental structure, but also brought important support for later governance, and many people worked hard for decades to plant trees and afforestation, giving this desert a key foundation for successful governance. And with such a foundation, the "next step" can be carried out. By directing some of the flooded water into the desert, it relieves pressure on reservoirs and channels and brings in the nutrient-rich silt that has accumulated in the Yellow River for years.
In the past, this silt has caused a great danger to the downstream river environment, but it has quickly come to life here. It not only provides nutrients, but also improves soil quality. The innovation of science and technology has brought a powerful boost to the complete change here, and here we have to mention the important ecological strategic project "photovoltaic desertification" currently developed in the mainland, which is used in the Kubuqi Desert, which is the combination of clean energy and new ecological farms.
3
New governance possibilities brought about by new technologies
If you have seen the huge "photovoltaic grids" in the northwest of the mainland, you will probably be able to understand the situation I am talking about. These PV areas can maximize the composite use of local land resources. After all, our solar projects are not simply power generation, they are called comprehensive environmental management projects, which are generally built on the edge of sandy land with a certain water source environment. The photovoltaic power station intercepts part of the solar heat and reduces the amount of evaporation on the ground. The panels collect rainwater and water for washing, and help crops grow through drip irrigation, etc.
This creates a condition that these lands can "lock in water" instead of either evaporating "to the sky" or seeping into the aquifer, as before, creating an area on the surface of the sandy land where crops can be grown, and by planting crops such as potatoes and pumpkins, the "water-locking" ability of the land can be strengthened, and the well-developed root system can also prevent soil erosion and increase the nitrogen content of the land, improving the properties of the land.
After a series of projects, these soil improvement areas can be built into complementary industrial areas. It can not only form a new land industry resource and improve the local income level, but also directly use the local power energy to develop an intelligent and water-saving irrigation system, which not only saves water resources, but also makes full and effective use of the electricity generated by photovoltaics. Through such technology, the survival rate of plants in the desert can be greatly improved.
As the land begins to regain its vitality, it is possible to grow some pasture crops that can prevent wind and fix sand, these crops are particularly drought tolerant, have low water requirements, and do not seem to have much economic value, but they can develop another key node, but it is "aquaculture". The reason why this is another key point is that the "organic fertilizer" brought by the sheep herd has successfully promoted the "fertilization" of the originally barren land, and even without the photovoltaic industry, these deserts can be turned into fertile land.
These measures work together to build a complete system of desert governance, aiming to achieve sustainable development in desert areas. Therefore, water resources, while important, must be combined with other governance measures to be most effective. Finally, the pattern of integrated and comprehensive circular development of ecological governance will be realized, and the situation of "mutual promotion" of economic benefits and protection and improvement of the ecological environment will be realized, so that desert governance is not an economic "burden" but a "profitable".
This is the important meaning, in addition to the intuitive benefits, there are also important social benefits hidden behind it. It indicates that this is really a process of comprehensive governance, and it will not disappear with the fluctuations and changes of any one industry. Another key point is the "replicability" behind it, which indicates that this set can be continuously replicated and promoted. After several years of compounding, the local vegetation coverage soared, forming a "positive cycle".
After all, ecological governance, although it is necessary to do, but if you can only rely on the national investment, this continuous investment will not only drag down the country's economic development, due to excessive costs, it is easy to fall into an "unsustainable" state, only the all-round governance of the governance place, in order to restore its ecological aspects of "self-hematopoiesis" so that the governance continues to benefit more people.
With the effective success of governance, the sand and dust disasters in the north of the mainland are also constantly decreasing, and the sand and dust weather that can often be seen can "cover the sky and cover the sun" has also appeared less and less, and now the sand and dust weather in the north of the mainland is from more distant Mongolia regions, I have to say that compared with the continuous desertification of Mongolia, and then compared with the continuous improvement of the desert in our country, people can't help but sigh.
4
Raising "seafood" in the desert
For example, in the case of the Kubuqi Desert, areas close to the Yellow River can use the water resources and mud resources of the Yellow River, while some areas do not have such natural conditions, and can also be changed by scientific and technological innovation and efforts.
For example, through specialized technologies, the efficient recycling of water resources can be achieved, and the need for external fresh water sources can be significantly reduced, thus adapting to the challenge of desert water scarcity. Secondly, through the application of environmental control technology, including temperature regulation, oxygen supply and waste disposal, the stability of the breeding environment is ensured and the strict requirements for water quality are met for the growth of "seafood". In particular, the original "harmful" saline-alkali land is fully utilized.
The more efficient modern method monitors water quality parameters and biological indicators in real time, and adjusts management measures in a timely manner based on feedback data, which improves the efficiency and safety of aquaculture. It is worth mentioning that desert farming "seafood" not only provides high-quality "seafood" products for the market, but also promotes the development of the local economy and realizes the harmonious coexistence of ecological and economic benefits.
It is under the guidance of this "local conditions" governance method and the "sustainability" governance concept, our country's desert governance is constantly pushing forward, especially with the development of new technology, bringing more opportunities to our governance, I believe that in the near future, "desert into an oasis" is no longer a delusion, but through down-to-earth construction, a goal that can really be achieved.
Resources:
[1] People's Daily Online - 2018.08.15 "Water Diversion and Desertification Control: Successful Experience of Water Ecological Governance in Kubuqi Desert"
[2] China Development Network - 2023.12.22 "Inner Mongolia "Shagehuang" Large-scale Photovoltaic Base Helps Achieve the National "Double Carbon" Goal
[3] Guangming.com - 2024.04.04 "From "Sand Disaster Desert" to "Sand Sea Oasis"
[4] Huanqiu.com - 2023.09.09 "Learn about the new model of fish farming and see how to raise "seafood" on the edge of the desert"