The unprecedented sandstorm that swept through Qatar last Wednesday almost brought life to a standstill by disrupting road and aviation traffic for some hours and kept the population indoors in addition to causing allergies and respiratory problems in hundreds of children and adults.
Though most of Qatar consists of a low, barren plain, covered with sand, and dust storms are a regular occurrence, the ferocious sandstorm should prompt the authorities concerned to think about and implement steps that would alleviate such a threat in the future.
There is no overnight fix. Qatar needs an aggressive afforestation campaign in much of its barren land, utilising native tree species including the Sidra, to create large “green belts” that would reduce the incidence and intensity of sandstorms.
Studies indicate that creeping deserts are a global problem. It is estimated about one-third of the Earth is exposed to desertification, according to a 2004 United Nations study. Large swaths of Africa and Asia are at risk, as are some parts of North America, especially in the American West.
What makes desertification so problematic in Asia is the movement of sand toward population hubs. The Gobi Desert in China’s northwest is the most dominant; its cousin, the Kubuqi, is farther east and closest to Beijing.
Since the 1980s, the Chinese have planted billions of trees to bring back the land after decades of deforestation as the population grew and industrialisation transformed the country. From 2000 to 2010, large swaths of land - equivalent to the size of Massachusetts - were reforested every year.
For decades, China has made afforestation efforts to attempt to curb the desertification of areas around the Gobi Desert as it expands, and to help fight global warming. The country’s nationwide forest coverage reached 20.36% in 2008, up from 13.92% in 1992 and it is projected to hit 21.66% this year, according to figures from the State Forestry Administration.
China is to spend $34.9bn by 2020 to fund afforestation projects, with plans to increase the country’s forest coverage by 4.1%.
Beijing has been long plagued by sandstorms that hit the city every spring, prompting many to wear face masks amid the red and brown gloom. The sand makes its way down from the deserts in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, including the Gobi, and can often block the sun for hours at a time.
Over the past four decades, the days of dusty weather in Beijing have been dropping annually in general, as a result of the afforestation programme. According to a report by the National Afforestation Committee Office, volunteers have planted 64bn trees since the government first encouraged participation in such activities in 1981.
Qatar could take a leaf out of China’s success in combating sandstorms. But just planting trees is not sufficient. There should be an action plan, with involvement of the public, to maintain and protect these trees, which need care during the initial years.
Huge quantities of treated sewage effluent are presently remaining unutilised and hence discharged into open areas in various parts of Qatar. This resource should be put to the best use by irrigating the “green belts” once they are established.


 

 

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