中国致力于防治荒漠化

11月25日，一场巨大的沙尘暴袭击了中国西北部城市张掖，形成了一道100米高的沙墙。强风从附近的戈壁沙漠卷起沙子和灰尘，很快，这个拥有120万人口的城市几乎完全被灰尘吞没。能见度降低到10米以下，地方政府启动了应急计划。

On November 25, a huge sandstorm hit China’s northwestern city of Zhangye with a 100-meter-high sand wall. Strong winds whipped up sand and dust from the nearby Gobi Desert and soon the city of 1.2 million people was almost totally engulfed in the dust. The visibility was reduced to less than 10 meters and an emergency response plan was activated by local authorities.

11月25日，一场巨大的沙尘暴袭击了中国西北部城市张掖，形成了一道100米高的沙墙。强风从附近的戈壁沙漠卷起沙子和灰尘，很快，这个拥有120万人口的城市几乎完全被灰尘吞没。能见度降低到10米以下，地方政府启动了应急计划。

The horrifying sandstorm not only brings the dust but also puts the problem of desertification once again under the spotlight.

令人毛骨悚然的沙尘暴不仅带来了沙尘，而且使荒漠化问题再次成为人们关注的焦点。

Desertification is the gradual transformation of habitable land to arid land, usually caused by climate change and/or the improper use of land. It is one of the most important environmental challenges that the world faces today.

荒漠化是指通常由于气候变化或土地使用不当而导致的可居住土地向干旱土地的逐渐转变。这是当今世界面临的最重要的环境挑战之一。

According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), more than 100 countries – principally in the Sahel, Central, and East Asia are affected by desertification.

根据《联合国防治荒漠化公约》提供的信息，100多个国家- -主要在萨赫勒、中亚和东亚- -严重受到荒漠化的影响。

In China, a country undergoing fast economic development but with nearly 20 percent of its land area as desert, desertification has become one of the country’s most urgent and important environmental problems.

中国是一个经济快速发展但国土面积占国土面积近20%的沙漠国家，沙漠化已成为我国最紧迫、最重要的环境问题之一。

With a growing population and drier climate, the challenges also increase. The three most serious desertification areas in China are the western Horqin sandy land, the Maowusu Desert and its surrounding areas as well as the western and southern Tarim Basin.

随着人口的增长和气候的干燥，挑战也在不断增加。中国最严重的三个沙漠化地区是科尔沁西部沙地、毛乌素沙漠及其周边地区以及塔里木盆地西部和南部。

Compared with 1975, the desert area of China has expanded 21,000 square miles (54,390 square kilometers) – approximately equal to the size of Croatia. many so-called "ecological refugees" have been relocated because of desertification.

与1975年相比，中国的沙漠面积扩大了2.1万平方英里(54390平方公里)-大约相当于克罗地亚的面积。许多所谓的“生态难民”因荒漠化而被重新安置。

In spite of this, China is known for its continuous effort to slow or reverse desert growth. The UNCCD even calls China "a champion in the fight against desertification."

尽管如此，中国仍以持续努力减缓和扭转沙漠的增长而闻名。联合国教科文组织甚至称中国为“防治荒漠化的斗士”。

One of the country’s major initiatives to restore land is the Three-North Shelterbelt program, also known as the "Green great Wall of China." It is designed to prevent the desert from encroaching into the grassland and farmland by planting trees.

中国恢复土地的主要举措之一是三北防护林项目，也被称为“中国绿色长城”。它的目的是通过植树来防止沙漠侵蚀草原和农田。

According to statistics, an average of 4,400 square kilometers of China’s desertified land have been restored annually since 2000. The pace may be slow, but the expansion of some deserts has been reversed.

据统计，自2000年以来，中国每年平均恢复4400平方公里的沙化土地。速度可能很慢，但一些沙漠的扩张已经逆转。