In the middle of the summer, the Shipao valley, in the county of Youyu, a city of Shuozhou (province of Shanxi, in northern China), is now covered with luxuriant vegetation. Yet not long ago here only one tree did not grow and even the grass could not survive.
An incredible transformation, whose merit is of Wang Zhanfengtoday 74 years old, who dedicated his entire life to fight desertification and plant trees.
Youyu It is located in the corridor of the winds of the desert of Mu usa fragile area and in the past scourged by sandstorms. The situation was so serious that there was even talk of evacuating the entire county. But since the 1950s the local government has guided residents in a huge reforestation campaign: forest coverage, which was below 0.3%, today rose to 57%.
Wang’s radical choice
It was 1983 when the county introduced new rules for the management of minor water basins. That year, while thousands of peasant families accepted the challenge of taking care of arid plots, Wang made a decision that would change his life: wealthy man, he left his life comfortable, invested the savings and managed about 100 hectares of that sterile land of the Valley of Shipao.
He was the first in the whole province, but the reforestation proved to be much harder than expected: poor seeds and poor soil. Yet Wang didn’t give up. He built infrastructures to preserve water and prevent erosion, planted crops, studied new irrigation techniques, moved several times, living in improvised shelters and working from dawn until late at night.
Over time, his perseverance gave fruit: in 1994 he was awarded as “Model worker for the management of water basins in Shanxi“. Today, after 43 years, it made over 2 thousand square kilometers of land.
What was once a poppepi monoculture has become a lively and complex ecosystem: here now they live wild pheasants, Siberian roe deer and many other species. Wang dreams even bigger: he wants to plant blueberries and thorny Olivello, so that his land can also generate economic value for the community.
A valley transformed into a mosaic of life
Youyu is not only the story of a man, but of an entire people who refused to surrender to the desert.
In the 70s, under the leadership of Deng Xiaopingenvironmental scientists described the area as “A desertified and uninhabitable land“, So much so that the leaders of the party seriously discussed if it was appropriate to transfer the entire population.
Today, passing through the Shipao Valley, it is difficult to believe it: green pastures, mongolous pines, larchs, orchards, football fields and animal pastures have replaced the yellowish dunes.
The reforestation was a collective and very hard work. The families cultivated seedlings on the sides of the mountains, where they transported water to stiffen them by hand. The women brought dry full -bodies, while men dug holes and filled them with river silt to retain humidity. An exhausting job, continued for decades, until it makes the growth of trees possible.
Thanks to this commitment, the reforestation work has covered over 240,000 acres.
Ecological and economic rebirth
The rebirth of the earth has brought new opportunities: today youyu is one of the major horse breeding centers in China and wool, fruit, tourism and other activities generate tens of millions of revenues.
Youyu’s reforestation program was also recognized by the United Nations as one of the best world examples of fighting desertification and ecological restoration. Last October he won the New Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Award in New York.
The story of Wang Zhanfeng and Youyu reminds us that nature can be reborn if we take care of it, time and dedication. No matter how much the desert seems to see: with obstinacy, intelligence and collaboration, we can report life even where it seemed impossible.
Don’t you want to lose our news?
