The protection policy of Eco-environment in desertification Areas of Northern China: Contradictions and Countermeasures

摘要

The desertification of northern China, with its extensive distribution and rapid growth rate, has become the major problem for regional environmental and social economical development. Until 2000, the total area of desertified land was 3.857 X 10~5 km~2, and it continues to spread at 3595 km~2 y~(-1). To prevent further desertification, the Chinese government used biotechnology and engineering measures (2, 3); however, the results were insignificant. In the late 1990s, the Chinese central government envisioned the benefits of returning farmland to forestry and pasture, and enclosing mountains to prevent further damage to the eco-envi-ronment. Therefore, policies such as returning farmland to forestry and pasture, conserving water, prohibition of grazing, and migration of farmers became the primary principles for regulating eco-envi-ronment degeneration in desertified areas. Nevertheless, conflicts have arisen between the protection policies implemented and the reality of eco-environ-mental protection. As a result, the status quo of the current regulation policies and the degeneration of the land as a whole have remained unchanged (4).