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Is China's fight against desertification at the cost of water security?

The Chinese government plans to invest $9.5 billion in afforestation on the Loess Plateau by 2050

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Photo: Shutterstock

Kai Schwärzel | The Conversation

For the first time, China has hosted a major global event on desertification and land degradation, the Cop-13, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The event took place in Ordos, in Inner Mongolia, a region known for its water-limited environments.

Such areas (commonly referred to as drylands) occupy about half of the planet and are often sensitive and prone to change because of limitations in water and extreme temporal variability in rainfall. Drylands are home to more than a third of the world’s population.

China has successfully implemented various afforestation programmes over the year to make drylands viable for