The Kubuqi Desert (simplified Chinese :库布齐沙漠; traditional Chinese :庫布齊沙漠; pinyin :Kùbùqí Shāmò) is a desert within the Ordos Basin in northwestern China, under the administration of the Inner Mongolian prefecture of Ordos City. Located between the Hetao plains and the Loess Plateau, it is part of the Ordos Desert along with the neighboring Mu Us Desert to its south, and is the 7th largest desert in China [1] [2] with an area of 18,600 km2 (7,200 sq mi). [3]
The area had gone through desertification due to centuries of overgrazing. [3]
Starting in 1988, the Elion Resources Group and the Government of Beijing worked to reverse desertification and restore the environment. By 2017, one third of the desert has had greenery restored. [3] [4] [5]
GigaWatt scale powerplants are being built in the desert, using solar panels and wind turbines. [6] [7]
Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by a variety of factors, such as overexploitation of soil as a result of human activity and the effects of climate change. Geographic areas most affected include the Sahel region in Africa, the Gobi Desert and Mongolia in Asia as well as parts of South America. Drylands occupy approximately 40–41% of Earth's land area and are home to more than 2 billion people.
The Ordos Desert is a desert/steppe region in Northwest China, administered under the prefecture of Ordos City in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. It extends over an area of approximately 90,650 km2 (35,000 sq mi), and comprises two sub-deserts: China's 7th-largest desert, the Kubuqi Desert, in the north; and China's 8th-largest desert, the Mu Us Desert, in the south. Wedged between the arable Hetao region to the north and the Loess Plateau to the south, the soil of the Ordos Desert is mostly a mixture of dry clay and sand, and as a result is poorly suited for agriculture.
Yulin is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the east, and Ningxia to the west. It has an administrative area of 43,578 km2 (16,826 sq mi) and as of the 2020 Chinese census had a population of 3,634,750.
The Badain Jaran Desert is a desert in China which spans the provinces of Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. It covers an area of 49,000 square kilometers. By size it is the third largest desert in China.
Ordos, also known as Ih Ju, is one of the twelve major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia, China. It lies within the Ordos Plateau of the Yellow River. Although mainly rural, Ordos is administered as a prefecture-level city. Its population was 2,153,638 as of the 2020 census, and its built-up area made up of Ejin Horo Banner and Kangbashi District was home to 366,779 inhabitants, as Dongsheng District is not a conurbation yet.
The Tengger Desert or Tengri Desert is an arid natural region that covers about 36,700 km2 and is mostly in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China.
The Great Green Wall, officially known as the Three-North Shelter Forest Program, also known as the Three-North Shelterbelt Program, is a series of human-planted windbreaking forest strips (shelterbelts) in China, designed to hold back the expansion of the Gobi Desert, and provide timber to the local population. The program started in 1978, and is planned to be completed around 2050, at which point it will be 4,500 kilometres (2,800 mi) long.
The Kumtag Desert, is an arid landform in Northwestern China, which was proclaimed as a national park in the year 2002.
The Gurbantünggüt Desert occupies a large part of the Dzungarian Basin in Northern Xinjiang, in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is also called by some sources Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert, presumably from a Mongolian language.
Heshigten or Hexigten Global Geopark is a UNESCO Global Geopark in Hexigten Banner, Chifeng city, Inner Mongolia, China. Its 1,750 km2 area is contained in eight separate areas of scenic beauty and geologic significance, including volcanic, glacial, and desert features.
The Gobi Desert is a large, cold desert and grassland region in northern China and southern Mongolia and is the sixth largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word Gobi, used to refer to all of the waterless regions in the Mongolian Plateau, while in Chinese Gobi is used to refer to rocky, semi-deserts such as the Gobi itself rather than sandy deserts.
Dengkou County, is a county with 90,196 inhabitants (2020) under the administration of Baynnur, in the west of Inner Mongolia. The total area of the county is 4,167 km2 (1,609 sq mi) with the seat in Bayangol.
Otog Banner is a banner of southwestern Inner Mongolia, China. It is under the administration of Ordos City, and borders Otog Front Banner to the southwest and Uxin Banner to the southeast.
Desert greening is the process of afforestation or revegetation of deserts for ecological restoration (biodiversity), sustainable farming and forestry, but also for reclamation of natural water systems and other ecological systems that support life. The term "desert greening" is intended to apply to both cold and hot arid and semi-arid deserts. It does not apply to ice capped or permafrost regions. It pertains to roughly 32 million square kilometres of land. Deserts span all seven continents of the Earth and make up nearly a fifth of the Earth's landmass, areas that recently have been increasing in size. As some of the deserts expand and global temperatures increase, the different methods of desert greening may provide a potential solution. Planting suitable flora in deserts has a range of environmental benefits from carbon sequestration to providing habitat for native desert fauna to generating employment opportunities to creation of habitable areas for local communities. The prevention of land desertification is one of 17 sustainable development objectives outlined by the United Nations, desert greening is a process that aims to not only combat desertification but to foster an environment where plants can create a sustainable environment for all forms of life while preserving its integrity.
The Mu Us Desert, also known as the Maowusu Desert, is a desert in the northern Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia, Northwest China. Its southeastern end is crossed by the Ming Great Wall, and it forms the southern portion of the Ordos Desert. The Wuding River drains the area, and then flows into the Ordos Loop of the Yellow River.
Elion Group founded in 1988, is a Chinese company in afforestation and reclaiming desert and drylands, and is headquartered in the Kubuqi Desert.
There are many pressing environmental issues in Mongolia that are detrimental to both human and environmental wellness. These problems have arisen in part due to natural factors, but increasingly because of human actions. One of these issues is climate change, which will be responsible for an increase in desertification, natural disasters, and land degradation. Another is deforestation, which is expanding due to human recklessness, pests, disease, and fires. Mongolian lands are becoming more arid through desertification, a process that is being exacerbated due to irresponsible land use. Additionally, more and more species are disappearing and at risk for extinction. Moreover, especially in population centers, Mongolians deal with air and water pollution caused by industrialization.
Xiangshawan, also known as Whistling Dune Bay and by other names, is a AAAAA-rated tourist area in the Dalad Banner of Ordos Prefecture in Inner Mongolia, China. Amid China's general campaign to combat desertification, the mostly unreclaimable site in the Gobi's Kubuqi Desert was developed as the country's first desert-themed tourism resort. It now consists of four "islands" of activities located around the Sand Dune Resort. Mongolian folk culture is displayed, and annual cultural events include an International Photography Week and a sand sculpture festival. Most popular during the summer, Xiangshawan is currently developing a ski resort to attract tourists during the winter months as well.
The Green Silk Road Fund is an investment fund led by Chinese private entrepreneurs to support projects in China and along the countries of the Belt and Road Initiative. It is unique among Belt and Road Initiative investment funds as private sector support is the predominant driver rather than Chinese policy banks and foreign exchange reserves.
The 2021 East Asia sandstorm was a meteorological phenomenon that began in the Eastern Gobi desert steppe on March 14, and subsequently spread to the entire Mongolian Plateau South, the Loess Plateau, the North China Plain and the Korean Peninsula. It was caused by strong northwest winds coming in from Mongolia, as a result of hot and dry conditions.