Beijing, May 4 (IANS) A sprawling green belt protecting China’s capital from sandstorm is set to get thicker.
A forest belt running 230 km east to west has been created since 2000 to reduce risks of desert encroachment and block sandstorm, said forest official Zhang Yunlong.
The spread of desert area caused by poor farming methods and overgrazing has been significantly controlled, the official said.
“Though the afforestation programme has made a great achievement, there is still a long way to go,” said Zhang.
He said another 1.1 million hectares of desert is to be tamed.
Along with Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Inner Mongolia have also benefitted from the green effort.
Desertification in China threatens the livelihood of 400 million people, officials say.
