Save the desert with the Haloxylon ammodendron tree！
June is the height of summer in the northern hemisphere. A group of African friends from the Sahara Desert in the southern hemisphere traveled through the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang, my country, with the confusion of sand control and desertification control, to find answers to their questions.
The Sahara Desert, with an area of about 9.3 million square kilometers, is the largest desert in the world; and the Taklimakan Desert, with an area of about 330,000 square kilometers, is the largest mobile desert in my country and the second largest in the world.
These African friends are students of the "Green Great Wall" construction technology training class, and have just participated in the third Taklimakan Desert Forum held in Korla, a southern city in Xinjiang. They and their Chinese counterparts discussed and studied how to effectively prevent and control land degradation and desertification in the Sahara Desert and the Taklimakan Desert.
Desertification is a severe challenge faced by the world. What inspiration will this "green dialogue" across thousands of miles bring to Africa's sand control and desertification control, and what opportunities will it bring for both sides to work together to cope with climate change and adhere to the path of sustainable development?
（1）
Under the scorching sun, dozens of African friends from the "Green Great Wall" training class traveled through the hinterland of the "Sea of Death". They drove along the Tarim Desert Highway, witnessed China's sand control practices, and learned related technologies such as quick fixation of quicksand.
The Sahara Desert, their hometown, is deeply affected by desertification, drought and land degradation, which damages the ecological environment and diversity, threatens food security, and may even cause social unrest...
Land degradation and desertification are becoming increasingly serious in the Sahel region on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. Under the leadership of the African Union, many countries in this region launched the "Green Great Wall" plan to jointly prevent and control desertification through transnational cooperation. The Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has maintained long-term cooperation with the plan.
Diop Suleiman, director of geographic information systems and databases at the secretariat of the "Green Great Wall" organization, said that China has made great efforts to prevent and control desertification, and Africa can be inspired by it. The two sides can work together to deal with issues such as sustainable development and climate change.
In China, after 60 years of desert control, patches of green "islands of hope" are spreading in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert like drops of oil on paper.
The Taklimakan Desert is located in the center of the Tarim Basin, which means "a place where you can't get out" in Uyghur. The Tarim Desert Highway Ecological Protection Forest Project has been implemented for 20 years, overcoming technical difficulties such as the construction of an economical sand barrier for the oasis on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin.
Today, three highways crossing the Taklimakan Desert have been built, with a total length of more than 1,200 kilometers. They have played an important role in accelerating the construction and development of the southern Xinjiang region and are proudly called "happy roads" by locals. The African friends who participated in the training course this time went deep into the heart of the desert along one of the roads.
（2）
There is a well house every 4 kilometers on both sides of the Tarim Desert Highway. At the well house No. 12 on the desert highway, Ethiopian technician Aberu Taina had a face-to-face exchange with Wang Yabin and Wei Yali.
When he heard that the couple had been working in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert for many years, Aberu Taina was deeply moved. He said: "This is a very important and difficult job. You have always been committed to your duties, which is amazing."
Omar Danladi Dashiru, the head of the African Desertification Control Initiative from Nigeria, learned that Haloxylon ammodendron is drought-resistant and salt-alkali-tolerant. He found Xu Xinwen, a researcher at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and gestured while talking, wanting to know whether Haloxylon ammodendron can be cultivated by cuttings instead of sowing.
"We all grow seedlings from seeds in the breeding base and then transplant them into the sand. Cuttings are not allowed." Xu Xinwen said, "Nigeria only has rainy and dry seasons. Haloxylon ammodendron must bloom in spring and bear fruit in autumn. I'm afraid it won't survive there!"
Dashilu asked, "How do you know if you don't try?"
"Okay, then let's try it in the cooperative demonstration area in Nigeria." Xu Xinwen and Dashilu smiled at each other.
There has always been a leather cushion on the sofa in Xu Xinwen's home, with his name embroidered on it. It was a gift that Dashilu specially prepared for him when he went to Nigeria in 2018.
"Dashilu is an active and energetic person. He values Chinese experts and does things carefully." Speaking of this good friend, Xu Xinwen was full of praise.
Data provided by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows that Chinese experts have started building a technology demonstration zone in Kano State in northern Nigeria, which combines shelterbelt optimization with economic functions. They have selected four species from more than ten native tree species in Nigeria for trial planting and are promoting them to local communities.
（2）
There is a well house every 4 kilometers on both sides of the Tarim Desert Highway. At the well house No. 12 on the desert highway, Ethiopian technician Aberu Taina had a face-to-face exchange with Wang Yabin and Wei Yali.
When he heard that the couple had been working in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert for many years, Aberu Taina was deeply moved. He said: "This is a very important and difficult job. You have always been committed to your duties, which is amazing."
Omar Danladi Dashiru, the head of the African Desertification Control Initiative from Nigeria, learned that Haloxylon ammodendron is drought-resistant and salt-alkali-tolerant. He found Xu Xinwen, a researcher at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and gestured while talking, wanting to know whether Haloxylon ammodendron can be cultivated by cuttings instead of sowing.
"We all grow seedlings from seeds in the breeding base and then transplant them into the sand. Cuttings are not allowed." Xu Xinwen said, "Nigeria only has rainy and dry seasons. Haloxylon ammodendron must bloom in spring and bear fruit in autumn. I'm afraid it won't survive there!"
Dashilu asked, "How do you know if you don't try?"
"Okay, then let's try it in the cooperative demonstration area in Nigeria." Xu Xinwen and Dashilu smiled at each other.
There has always been a leather cushion on the sofa in Xu Xinwen's home, with his name embroidered on it. It was a gift that Dashilu specially prepared for him when he went to Nigeria in 2018.
"Dashilu is an active and energetic person. He values Chinese experts and does things carefully." Speaking of this good friend, Xu Xinwen was full of praise.
Data provided by the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows that Chinese experts have started building a technology demonstration zone in Kano State in northern Nigeria, which combines shelterbelt optimization with economic functions. They have selected four species from more than ten native tree species in Nigeria for trial planting and are promoting them to local communities.
（3）
Goats chew acacia leaves, squirrels and partridges hop on the ground, mantises land on trees, sunlight shines through green leaves... The Simiri Plateau in southwestern Niger is full of vitality. Who would have thought that this once barren place has now turned into a small paradise for animals and plants thanks to the "Green Great Wall" project.
At present, a "Green Great Wall" is winding forward on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert in Africa. This is a shelterbelt designed to be 15 kilometers wide and 7,000 kilometers long, spanning Africa.
This project started in 2007, with China participating in the construction and providing relevant experience. Its inspiration comes from China's "Three Norths" shelterbelt.
Six years ago, the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences began to cooperate with the Pan-African "Green Great Wall". Over the past six years, China has built several pilot demonstration areas in Mauritania and Nigeria, and the fenced demonstration area built in Ethiopia has exceeded 200 hectares... China is helping Africa accelerate the construction of the "Green Great Wall".
The cooperation has yielded results. Chinese and African experts have found that the total desertification area in the Sahel region on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert has dropped from 72.31% in 2000 to 69.23% in 2020. Experts predict that after the completion of Africa's "Green Great Wall", it will greatly improve the natural environment of more than 10 countries south of the Sahara Desert and benefit millions of local people.
World-class problems require world-class wisdom. Those who share the same aspirations will not regard mountains and seas as far away. Green development is the foundation for building a community with a shared future for mankind. This is not only a development concept, but also a civilization concept.