China Says It’s Slowing Rate of Desertification

(Reuters) – China, with desert covering one third of its landmass, is slowing the rate at which desertification is eating up arable and other land but the problem remains serious, a government official said on Monday.

At the end of the last century, areas affected by desertification in China were expanding at an annual rate of 10,400 square km (4,015 sq mile), said Zhu Lieke, deputy head of the State Forestry Administration.

This had now slowed to about 3,000 square km a year, he told a news conference.
Reuters