Research conducted for China's Grassland Sustainable Development
Strategy, made public recently by the Ministry of Agriculture,
displays a trend with some of the country's grasslands being
improved while on the whole the situation is getting worse?and
the ecological position of the grasslands remains threatened, the
People's Daily reported on May 8.
The Ministry of Agriculture organized hundreds of grass,
agriculture and ecology experts to conduct the research last
year.
China has nearly 400 million hectares of natural grasslands
ranking second in the world only behind Brazil. The area of
grasslands accounts for 13 percent of the world's total and 41.7
percent of the entire country. The grasslands are 3.2 times that of
cultivated ground and 2.5 times more than the country's forests,
according to the research.
After implementing the policy of reform and opening up to the
outside world in 1978, China has sped up the development of the
grassland industry, standardized the protection and usage of
grassland resources and promoted gradual ecological development.
The grassland economy is developing steadily; related industrial
science and technology is progressing; grassland disaster
prevention and control capabilities have been strengthened and laws
and regulations on their protection improved.
By the end of 2005 the total area of new grasslands had reached
13 million hectares, the area of improved grasslands 14 million
hectares and fenced grasslands stood at 33 million hectares.
For about 20 percent of usable grasslands local governments have
already imposed regulations on how they should be used for
livestock. More than 70 percent of the usable grasslands have been
contracted for management by local herdsmen households.
However, the research found that a lack of awareness of the
importance of grass development had remained. The conflicts between
grassland conservation and usage are still sharp. The input in
scientific and technological support is insufficient and the
guarantee system is imperfect.
In north China the number of animals in grassland areas is 36
percent more than the grassland capacity allows. As a result the
production capabilities have dropped continuously, with the current
average grass output being one to two thirds lower than that in
early 1960s.
More than 90 percent of the country's usable natural grasslands
have degenerated to varying degrees through among other things
desertification and salinization, according to the research. The
area of desolated land is expanding at an annual rate of 262,000
hectares, most of which are in dry grassland regions. The volume of
silts produced from the grasslands accounts for 35 percent of the
silt found in the Yangtze River. Since 1950s the area of cultivated
grasslands has grown to about 20 million hectares with nearly 50
percent of it becoming desolated or desert.
The research indicates that the strategic thinking on
sustainable development of grass resources should switch from
economic effectiveness to identification of the economic, social
and ecological efficiency with ecological considerations being the
top priority.
Efforts must be made to improve production techniques of animal
husbandry and change the lifestyles of farmers themselves in
grassland regions so as to give full play to the grassland industry
in safeguarding ecological security and guaranteeing food safety
and supply, the research indicates.?
(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong, May 11, 2006)