Mongolia70 The land is desertified, and herders are bankrupt and pouring into the capital
Mongolia is the second largest landlocked country in the world, and its dry climate and harsh environment have caused great constraints on people's lives. Its territory is 1.56 million square kilometers, but it has a population of only 3 million. The annual rainfall in Mongolia does not exceed 200 mm, and the average annual temperature is only -13. The cold and arid climatic conditions severely limit Mongolia's development and are also an important pillar of its economy.
Mongolia has vast grasslands, about 900,000 square kilometers, with 300,000 herders and 70 million livestock on pastures. That is, there are 80 cows and sheep in a meadow. However, with the development of animal husbandry, the area of cultivated land in Mongolia is increasing, and there is a serious surplus of grassland resources, and there is a serious shortage of grassland resources. More than 76% of Mongolia's land has been affected by desertification, with an average annual desertification area of about 2%. As a result of desertification, 500 rivers have dried up, 400 lakes have become extinct, livestock living conditions have been declining, and many pastoralists have gone out of business due to poverty.
However, it is only overgrazing that has led to desertification in the region, and mining has wreaked havoc on Mongolia's already fragile ecosystem. Mongolia is called"Coal mining power"More than 80 kinds of minerals have been identified, among which the reserves of coal, iron, copper and other minerals rank first in the world, and the copper ore reserves are as high as 2 billion metric tons, ranking first in Asia. Mongolia exports mineral products as its main industry in 2022 alone, amounting to US$10.6 billion, equivalent to 62% of GDP. However, most of Mongolia's copper mines use large-scale open-pit mining, which has caused great damage to the ecological environment of the mining area and accelerated the development of surface desertification.
With the desertification of grasslands and the economic decline of the nomads, large numbers of nomads were forced to migrate to the economically well-off capital of Ulaanbaatar, resulting in large slums. Due to the influx of immigrants, Ulaanbaatar's population has grown rapidly to 1.4 million, or 46% of Mongolia's population, and is the only major city in Mongolia. The slums around Ulaanbaatar have been turned into a sanctuary for these nomads.
Among them, China has been hit the hardest by the desertification of Mongolian land. From March to May, Hurricane Mongolia carried 300,000 tonnes of dust from northern Mongolia to southern China, and severely impacted much of northern China. A sandstorm in April this year swept through 19 provinces and cities in China, covering more than 4 million square kilometers and more than 400 million residents. This sandstorm has crossed the Yangtze River and came to Shanghai and Zhejiang, causing huge losses.
China has achieved remarkable results in desertification control, and the Three-North Ecological Barrier (referred to as the "Three-North Shelterbelt") has developed at an average annual rate of 1183 km2. China's Mu Us Desert (referred to as "Mu Us Desert") has almost completely disappeared, and the project has built a "green barrier" in northern China, making important contributions to alleviating soil erosion and preventing sandstorms and other ecological and environmental problems. However, China's "forest" cannot completely stop the "sand" of Mongolia. Sandstorms are a global problem, and China will not be able to completely eliminate sandstorms if it does not fundamentally eliminate the problem of desertification in Mongolia. To do so, Mongolia must do something to combat desertification.
Overall, 70% of Mongolia's land is seriously desertified, which has a great impact on local livestock production and ecological security. Excessive grazing and exploitation have led to desertification in the area, leading to an influx of local herders into the slums of Ulaanbaatar. Desertification is also one of the major disasters in China, and successive sandstorms have caused major economic and ecological damage to northern China. Mongolia should increase its efforts to combat desertification, increase investment in national land resources, and carry out international cooperation with China to play a greater role in the prevention and control of sand and dust storms. Only by working together can our common home be secured.