Scoping study on western China desertification

Deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices have resulted in widespread soil degradation in western China. These processes have reduced agricultural productivity and led to the loss of natural ecosystems. Australia has struggled with similar issues. European settlement in Australia and its associated agricultural practices have caused extensive environmental damage, including the loss of top soil, dry-land salinity, soil acidification, reductions in biodiversity and diminishing water quality. Australian governments have attempted to address these issues through a range of policy solutions, including command-and-control style regulatory systems and community-based voluntary schemes typified by the Landcare movement. In the last decade state governments have introduced laws to reduce the loss of native vegetation and the Federal Government has conducted a significant intervention through the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality. Sharing this knowledge with the Chinese Government could help it devise solutions to its domestic land degradation problems in western China. This study involves a scoping workshop in Beijing on 11-12 September 2008, where Australian experts make presentations on relevant Australian laws, policy processes and institutional arrangements and respond to questioning from Chinese officials on aspects of Australia's natural resource management systems. Participants will report to ACIAR on the workshop and consider the merit of pursuing a larger collaborative project in this area.