China completed 3,000km ‘green belt’ around its largest desert
The construction of a ‘green belt’ about 3,000km long around the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was completed after workers planted the last 100m of trees, Reuters reports
More than 30 million hectares of trees have been planted in the creation of the ‘green belt’.
“The shelterbelt project has involved decades of experimentation with different tree and plant species to determine which is the hardiest,” the publication reads.
China will continue planting vegetation and trees along the edge of the Taklamakan to curb desertification, a forestry official in the region said.
He said poplar forests on the northern edge of the desert will be restored by diverting floodwaters and that officials also plan to create new forest networks to protect farmland and orchards on the western edge.
