Research shows that the speed of desertification in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the past 10 years has decreased by 50 percent, with the downward trend likely to continue.

The conclusion was made by Xinjiang Ecology and Geography Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, after analyzing Xinjiang's environment from the late 1980s to the late 1990s.

The research shows an increase in grassland, especially with high coverage, that contributes to the control of desertification. From mid-1990s, China started up the Natural Forest Protection project, Land for Forestry project, Water and Soil Conservation project and Comprehensive Environment Protection projects. Through joint efforts, the forest coverage in Xinjiang has risen from 1.03 to 1.92 percent, with 14,000 more hectares of grassland.

The climate of Xinjiang in recent years has tended to be warmer and more humid. The rainfall in spring of 2003 was nearly double that of 10 years ago. Following the growing rainfall, the water volume of Tarim River has consistently increased. Statistics from the institute show that until 12 am of May 19, the water area at the mouth of the Cherchen River, one branch of the Tarim River, reached 174.59 square kilometers, and water area of the Tatma Lake expanded to 32.57 square kilometers.

With the growing rainfall and improvement in the environment, Taklamakan Desert, the so-called Forbidden Area, is once again fecund. In the hinterland of the desert, people can now see swallows in the sky and hares jumping across the brushwood.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting June 1, 2003)