For nearly 50 years, China has placed straw grids across its deserts; desertified land is now shrinking by over 1,000 sq km a year, but scientists say the fight is far from over
Desert control worker Yin Yuzhen walks along sand dunes covered by grass checkerboard that’s part of desertification control efforts at the Engebei Ecological Area near Ordos in northern China’s Inner Mongolia province on Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Across the deserts of northern China, a quiet, repetitive movement has played out for…
