China Relocates Eco-Refugee Farmers as Deserts Encroach on Farmland

Desertification is the gradual transformation of habitable and arable land to desert ecosystems caused by climate change and/or destructive land use practices. Desertification is widespread in many areas of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese government is relocating farmers whose homeland is no longer suitable for habitation or agriculture. According to the Guardian:

The government says more than 150 million people will have to be moved. Water shortages exacerbated by over-irrigation and climate change are the main cause.

The problem is most severe in the north-west, where desert sands are swallowing up farmland, homes and towns. Huang lives in Mingqin, a shrinking oasis area that government advisers privately describe as an "ecological disaster area".

According to a study by the Centre for Agricultural Water Research in China, global warming is to blame. The Chinese government has begun paying farmers not to grow crops, in addition to relocating them. Unfortunately, most are relocated to land adjacent to desert areas which will eventually succumb to desertification.

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Posted by Jennifer Lance at May 21, 2009 1:28 AM