The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Resident Mission in Beijing said
Tuesday that the ADB has agreed to provide 610,000 US dollars'
worth of technical assistance to combat desertification in China's
western areas, particularly
Gansu
Province.
An
ADB spokesman said that desertification is a significant cause of
environment deterioration in China's western areas. It destroys
vegetation and farmland causing the decrease of agriculture output
and biological resources, he said. It also increases the frequency
of sandstorm, downstream flooding and erosion.
It
is also a major cause of rural poverty, and almost 90 percent of
China's rural poor live in areas suffering from soil erosion.
He
said that the assistance, to be financed by ADB's Japan Special
Fund, will include surveys of river basins containing oases under
the threat of desertification.
The project will examine the impact of development policies and
approaches to natural resources management, and will consult
affected communities and other related groups and individuals to
derive policy recommendations.
The project will assist Gansu Provincial Government to work out a
comprehensive plan to prevent and check further desertification and
promote the ecosystem construction in the Hexi Corridor.
The total cost of the technical assistance is US$ 765,000. Apart
from US$610,000 from the ADB, Gansu Province will fund the balance.
The project is scheduled for completion by February, 2002.
(China
Daily 08/01/2001)