the amount of crops yielded and raise much more animals by mistaken methods of farming and
rearing than before. Some may even increase the crop yield at the expense of the fertility of the
soil–over-cultivating the land. The soil, which is supposed to be left fallow for a number of years
to allow it to replenish the nutrients lost during the growth of crops, is now used to grow crops
incessantly. What worsens the situation is the fact that some tactless farmers do not fertilize the
soil in the farmland regularly. Gradually, the fertility of the soil will decline and the soil will
become infertile. The soil may then become not arable and the farmland is thus permanently
destroyed. Not only will the ecology of the desert be adversely affected, but people there may also
have to face the problem of food shortage.
Overgrazing, in which people raise more animals than the ecology can afford, could lead
to serious soil erosion and damage of ecology too. When the quantity of animals surges, it is
inevitable that more vegetation like grass will be consumed. When the rate of the consumption
exceeds the rate of the recovery of plants, the desert will begin to lose its vegetation, especially
that in the oasis. Lacking the stems of plants which hold the soil tightly and cohesively, the soil,
sand, and dust in the desert will turn loose and become easily blown up. Soil erosion arises in
this case. Whenever there is rain or wind, the top soil and thus the nutrient in soil will be easily
carried away, resulting in a decline of the fertility in the soil. A vicious cycle appears then–the
diminishing amount of vegetation will cause a lack of food for the wild animals and the livestock
raised by the nomads. Many of the animals may not be able to survive ultimately, which could also
lead to the shortage of food for the locals. In the long run, famine is extremely likely to happen.
Another by-product of soil erosion is that it could cause more frequent sandstorm in the
surrounding metropolis of the Gobi Desert or even the whole world. When there is strong wind
in the desert, the eroded soil will be easily brought away from the desert by the wind. It means
that the sand and dust could reach everywhere with the help of the wind. It is suspected that the
frequent sandstorm and continuously low visibility in Beijing may also be due to the soil erosion
in the Gobi Desert. With the sandstorm and low visibility, the environment, transportation,
people’s health and so on are tremendously influenced, as reflected by the delay of airplanes and
the skyrocketing number of people suffering from respiratory diseases in China.
Apart from excessive agricultural development, the large-scale development of nuclear power
in the Gobi Desert and in its surrounding areas also poses a torrent of threats, no matter to the
organisms living in the desert or people across the globe. The issue of the nuclear development is
de facto two-folded.
Firstly, many countries like Russia and France are interested in the rich mineral reserves in
Mongolia, notably the reserves of radioactive metals like uranium. They are keen on cooperating
with Mongolia to mine the radioactive metals in the Gobi Desert so as to acquire more resources.
However, mining of uranium and other radioactive metals usually involves opencast mining,
in which the vegetation has to be removed and the surface of the land has to be completely
destroyed. Not only will this deteriorate the problem of soil erosion, but it may also lead to
pollution problem like air pollution and noise pollution during the process of mining.
Worse still, the Chinese government signed an agreement with a French corporation in
2010 about establishing a huge nuclear fuel reprocessing and recycling plant in the area of the
Gobi Desert. Notwithstanding the profit that could be generated by operating such a plant, the
concealed risks of it have already outweighed the benefits. There is always the possibility of
leakage of radioactive waste, regardless of how low it could be. Given that there is leakage of
