Replanting the desert

While the trees have worked wonders for the environment, it also supplies, upon maturity, raw materials for the paper industry. Organic materials from the same paper industry are in turn used to fertilise the tree plantations. It is, according to Wang Ting, Deputy General Manager of Meili Forestry Developing Company, a-win-win situation. "The forests revive the environment and supply raw materials; the paper industry provides fertilisers," he says.

This is by no means an easy venture. Though the land was given by government, with some subsidies and loans extended to the group, it takes a lot of work and dedication to carry out a project of this magnitude, moreover in a desert. There still remain significant challenges: Inadequate water for irrigation, sand storms, insects and pests. The overall goal of eventually turning this desert into oasis, however, overrides these challenges. Already, the project has improved the local environment and, according to Mr Ting, if they can encourage more locals to plant trees, this will positively impact the environment as well as improve the economic conditions of the people. This forestry development venture is a classic case of a region that is not, like Uganda, gifted by nature, but has devised ways of making good use of their desert land. On the contrary, in Uganda where we are naturally rich in vegetation, our environment management practices are quite poor. According to projections, Uganda could lose its forest cover in less than 40 years if action is not taken to reverse poor environment management. A 2008 Environment Report warned of the dire consequences of forest cover degradation, especially disappearance of wetlands and water bodies. Four years later, Uganda's state of the environment remains poor, if not worse.

Innovative solutions

Ningxia, on the other hand, has used innovative ways to develop their agricultural output and supply of dairy products (dairy farms depend mainly on corn that is planted on a large scale partly because they want to preserve their grassland from being destroyed by grazing cattle). According to Mr Kang Zhanping, the Deputy Director General of the Publicity Department and Director of External Publicity Office, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, wolfberries are not Ningxia's only competitive edge. The region's agriculture success lies primarily in the ancient irrigational system from the famous Yellow River.

The Helan Horticulture Industry Park, for instance, produces a rich variety of crops using hydroponics method- a process where plants are grown without soil and necessary food elements mixed with the water used for irrigation. Through this method, officials at this industrial park say they are able to produce a wide variety of crops in large quantities on limited space. That is why Ningxia is able to export vegetables and fruits to mainly Hong Kong among other countries as well as sweet potatoes to the Middle East and other Arab countries.

This agricultural development can be partly attributed to the region's agriculture academy that carries out research in agriculture technologies for development of crops such as wheat, corn, rice as well as fruits like the famous wolfberries.

沙漠种植

树木可以改善当地的自然环境，成材后还可以为造纸厂提供原料；而造纸厂产生的有机废料反过来变成了树木的肥料。中冶美利林业开发公司的副总经理王珽认为，这是一个双赢的局面。他说：“森林改良环境、提供原材料；造纸厂提供肥料。”

无论从哪个方面来讲，这都不是一件轻而易举的事情。虽然当地政府提供了土地、部分补助和贷款，但是完成这样浩大的工程依然需要繁重的劳动和不懈的努力；更不用说，这是在沙漠的环境下工作，灌溉用水稀缺、沙暴频繁、虫灾严重，困难比比皆是。然而，这里的人们始终向着变沙漠为绿洲的目标前行，最终克服了这些挑战。这项工程已经极大地改善了当地的自然环境；王珽希望能够招募更多当地的居民参与这项工作，在改善自然环境的同时，也改善当地居民的经济状况。林业发展是一个典型的例子，展示了宁夏作为一个自然环境相对恶劣的地区，如何合理规划和利用他们的沙漠资源。相比之下，乌干达的自然植被种类丰富，却缺乏良好的规划和管理。根据预测，如果再不采取行动扭转这个局面，乌干达的森林覆盖将在近40年后消失。一项2008年的环境报告已经就森林减少、湿地和水体消失的可怕后果敲响了警钟，然而四年过去了，乌干达的环境状况没有得到任何改善，反而可能变得更糟。

创新方法

另一方面，宁夏运用创新手段发展农业，努力增加农产品产量和乳制品供应量。这里的现代奶业示范基地主要以大面积种植的玉米作物为饲料，以保护当地草场。宁夏自治区党委宣传部副部长、自治区政府新闻办主任康占平说，宁夏的拳头产品并不仅限于枸杞。宁夏在农业方面所取得的成功主要依赖于古代黄河灌溉系统。

举例来说，贺兰园艺产业园运用水栽培法培育出种类丰富的作物，这里的植物不是生长在土壤里，而是生长在混合了营养成分的培养液中。据产业园的负责人介绍，利用水栽培法，他们可以在有限的空间内，培育大量的品种丰富的作物。宁夏能够承担向香港等地输出瓜果蔬菜、向中东及其他阿拉伯国家出口甘薯，秘密就在于此。

宁夏农业发展所取得的成就也有宁夏农科院的功劳，该机构大力开展农业技术研究，为小麦、玉米、水稻等作物以及枸杞等水果的新品种培育做出了贡献。