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China Tropical Lands Research | |
| Degraded Lands of China: Problems and Opportunities | ||
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Establishing a clearly thought out, reasonable goal is a first step in planning remedial actions for degraded lands. The goal should reflect an ecological approach in its planning, design and implementation to assure that as few as possible unanticipated adverse effects arise from the project. It is not uncommon to encounter adverse unanticipated effects of land-altering projects years after their completion. Thus, adequate basic and applied research coupled with continuous monitoring and evaluation of project activities needs to be started early in demonstrations and pilot activities to help provide early warnings.
Experience shows that whatever land improvement actions are taken, they should be: (1) safe to humans and the natural environment, (2) affordable, (3) fast working,and (4) adaptable to different cultures. They in turn should: (1) improve land quality, (2) expand economic land-use options, and (3) improve the quality of life for local populations. Solutions, thus, require interdisciplinary approaches and strong local community participation.
In addition, it is important to establish a specific goal for the land improvement actions, one that is quantifiable and is measurable in time. Without both of these, a goal is open ended. For example, a person's stated goal might be to reduce erosion in a certain degraded area. However, stated this way, neither the rate of progress nor level of success can be measured. Is the desired erosion reduction 1 percent, 10 percent or perhaps 80 percent? Over what period of time is this reduction to be achieved: 6 months, 2 years, or perhaps 20 years? There is no way to tell. Consequently, proper goal setting is an important first step for any remedial action designed to improve degraded lands.
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund provided support to the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in 1996 to assist Chinese researchers improve their project designs and in establishing achievable goals. Ten of the final proposed projects were funded by the combined support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Japanese Keidanren Foundation, and the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation. A short summary of one of these studies on how zeolites can be used effectively in various South China agriculture activities in is found under Current Efforts.