desert seems to have given them flamboyant personalities. They are friendly and enthusiastic, and
frequently offer care to passing travelers.
The Gobi Desert is also a place of archaeological wonder. It is one of the best, most valued
places for dinosaur fossil excavation. The desert holds one of the world’s widest arrays of
dinosaur remains.
The only fault, perhaps, is Mongolia’s lack of regulations towards fossil poachers. Many of
these precious historical remains fall prey to thieves, leaving a gigantic gap in history.
The Gobi Desert is an amazing place. Its natural scenery is second to none. And its rich
human history and culture is absolutely unique. It houses the world’s biggest collection of
prehistoric fossils. Everything mentioned so far speaks of epic survival, of beauty, of diversity in
inhospitable environments.
But behind the beauty and wonder, there is a destructive side. Tales told from another
perspective tell of how the desert is suffering from man-caused desertification, and how the
desert’s expansion is having severe impacts on the environment and on our health and safety.
Tales tell of how the sands are sweeping away thousands of acres of land each year, and of how
homes are being buried by advancing sandstorms. Worst of all, the storms affect not only the
neighboring areas, but also faraway countries like the Koreas and Japan.
Some may ask – how can such a precious place be the source of so much trouble? How can a
place of such wonder and beauty destroy surrounding land?
The answer is simple. Desertification is currently prevalent in dry areas, due to the rapid
growth of the farming business.
How does agriculture affect the expansion of deserts? The two may seem completely unrelated,
but excessive farming can actually lead to the fire-rapid expansion of deserts.
Here’s how it works. Vegetation is stripped from an area to make room for farmland. The soil
unravels and loosens as its vegetative anchors – plant roots – are removed. The sand then sneaks
into the ground unnoticed.
Crops are packed tightly into rows to increase production capacity. The soil’s nutrients are
sucked dry and the earth is completely robbed of minerals. The land dries up, and the soil turns to
sand. In this case, the Gobi’s sands at the borders of the farms also contribute to the effect – the
sand makes its malicious way in through the loose soil.
In addition, global warming has decreased water levels in the earth, worsening soil
quality and halting vegetative growth. Overgrazing has also contributed to desertification – a
problem worsened by the growing number of nomadic herders. People have been exploiting and
exhausting the land.
As a result, acres of farmland are being swallowed up by the desert, and fewer crops can be
planted in these once fertile regions. In a way, farms planned their own demise – they removed
vegetation for short-term gain, exhausting the soil of nutrients, leading to their own loss.
Increased desert area means more sand. This is a major factor for the alarming trend of
the increasing number and the average intensity of sandstorms each year. In other words,
desertification isn’t just burying surrounding areas – it’s also affecting territories far off. And
these sandstorms are blowing off layers of soil from grasslands, leading to more desertification.
It’s a vicious cycle that must be stopped.
A small ray of hope, the Green Wall of China, exists. The Wall is a recent project launched
by the government. Its aim – to reclaim land that has succumbed to the Gobi. The project
