“Desertification in China Costs Annual Loss of 9 Trillion Won”

Experts have clarified on June 17 that as the desertification rapidly expands in the northern regions of China the direct economical loss reaches 64.2 billion yuan (9.2 trillion won) annually and if the indirect losses are to be included in the figure, the loss reaches up to 288.9 billion yuan (41.49 trillion won) a year.

Researcher Ruchi of the Chinese Research & Development Center for the Prevention and Control of Desertification (CRDCPCD) clarified that the direct losses include the erosion of the wind and the water, the increase of salt content in the soil, the decline in the production due to the alkaline and the indirect losses are the stoppage of communication and transportation, the burying of villages, the delay and the cancellation of flight operations, the decrease in the life time of the associated facilities, and many more.

“The total area in which the desertification has started covers 2.62 square kilometers (12 times of the area of the Korean Peninsula) thus it is the twice of the overall cultivation area. There must be better effective management to stop the desertification,” he warned.

Prior to this report, the China Daily, a Chinese daily newspaper in the English language, reported that the pictures from the satellite showed that three self-government districts of Neimon, Shinjangwe, Ningsha along with three provinces of Sanshi, Shanshi and Chinghai have already started the desertification.

The Chinese government is seriously concerned about the fact that the desertification has been enlarged even to the region, which is less than 250 kilometers away from its capital, Beijing.

Despite the overall effort to stop the process of the desertification by expanding the forestation industry, the experts have warned that, the strong sand storm caused by the desertification can be an enormous obstacle in the opening of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.