| BS16110641 | LEONG WEI KUAN |
| BS16280862 | SITI NUR UMMI JUHAIDAH BINTI JIMAT |
| BS16110564 | VIANNIE MAIHTHY BINTI JUIN |
| BS16160808 | AVYRACHEAL |
COMMENTATORS:
| BS16110530 | JULIA MUNAH ANAK NGUMBANG |
| BS16110542 | NUR AIN SYARVEENA BINTI KAMISE |
| BS16110141 | NUR SYAZNI BINTI MOHAMAD SAINAL |
| BS16110560 | NUR AINI BINTI SABRI |
NUR SYAZNI BINTI MOHAMAD SAINAL (BS16110141)
ReplyDeleteBased on the video, we learned that the large degradation in Loess Plateau is because of the destructive human behaviour. Their traditional practices were not sustainable at all. The area has been heavily grazed by goats and sheep for decades and centuries. There was no management structure. People increased their animal numbers and great grazed whatever grass they could find and whenever they could want to do it. At the time they overdo it, vegetation begin to disappear. In order to solve this massive problem, the planning team evaluated the Loess Plateau from both macro and micro perspective. The macro perspective was achieved by using geographical information systems to map the entire Loess Plateau and by giving a unique address to each watershed. The micro perspective was acquired by participatory assessment that was then compiled into databases to learn what the local people understood and what had worked in communities that had more success in protecting their environment. In the hilly land, the experts determined that any slope over 25° was unsuitable for agriculture. New policies were then formulated. The tree cutting, planting on hillsides and free ranging of goats and sheep were banned. Next is about land use right. Every terrace and every tree planting area is contracted to a household and they are responsible for it. Local people determine the division themselves and entire communities participated to ensure the land was fairly divided. Modern management systems also been introduced. The entire communities reshape the devastated gullies and terracing the land to provide flat fields. Lastly, people get benefits from the project which are learning new sustainable farming methods and owning the outputs from the newly created agricultural lands. In short, it is possible to rehabilitate the massive damage ecosystems such as the Loess Plateau with courage and hard work of the people.
Nur Aini bt Sabri (BS16110560)
ReplyDeleteLoess Plateau situated in northern China covers the drainage basins in the middle reaches of Huanghe.Based on the video, Loess Plateau being most eroded place on earth as erosion occurs and the fundamental ecological systems on which life depends had collapsed.As what Liu Deng Fu said, his family ate mainly corn and millet with a few wild vegetables and cabbage and they rarely had oil or meat except on special occasions like the Spring Festival because of denuded of vegetation and human behaviour.As Jurgen Vogele said, the causes why the place so degraded were because of the rainfall fell down and slowly infiltrated into the ground and then drained into the Yellow River over hundred of days.After that,runs off in a gully takes a lot of topsoil with it which ends up in the Yellow River.We learnt that 95% of the water lost to the environment and gone that causes the place so dry and the vegetation decreased.In the northern part of the plateau where rainfall is very low ,shifting sands werer a major problem that could overwhelm agricultural or natural lands.In order to save their lands, a project has established and the early part of the project was building small dams that could capture and hold the rainwater during the rainy season.Without this measure, the water would have continued to runoff in floods taking more topsoil with it.As the vegetation cover is restored,the entire area becomes actively part of a functional hydrological cycle.Due to the water being absorbed and stored in plants in an organic matter in the soil, evaporation and respiration rates are then altered increasing the humidity in the soil and in the air.The project brings benefits to the people as Zhang Feng said after terracing the land, there is more water in the soil and they can grow many more vegetables like peas and corn.
NUR AIN SYARVEENA BINTI KAMISE , BS16110542
ReplyDeleteCovering an area that is the size of France, the Loess Plateau is home to more than 50 million very poor farmers who have suffered centuries of severe soil erosion, leading to massive environmental degradation and poverty. A film documenting an environmental rehabilitation project in Western China illustrates China's ability to restore some of its most devastated landscapes and serves as a model for all developing nations. John D. Liu illustrated through his film “Lessons of the Loess Plateau” how China's successes in rehabilitating large-scale damaged ecosystems in the Central China region, can serve as a plan for reversing human-induced environmental devastation in other countries, with strong emphasis on Northern Africa. Liu's outlined how the Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project, led by the World Bank and a team of Chinese scientists from the Ministry of Water Resources in the early 1990s, was able to transform the dry and mineral depleted region, restoring biodiversity and soil stability and increasing village incomes. The project created clear policies on land tenure, forbid free-range grazing of livestock, and planted an enormous number of trees. Liu’s said the Loess Plateau, a region that was once a pristine, nurturing ecosystem was ecologically devastated by human impact. Liu also noted the very similar degraded nature of the environments in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and stressed that these countries can learn from the lessons of the Loess Plateau. For him, combating climate change also occurs on integral part of it involves reversing the human impacts on a community's immediate environmental surroundings.
Julia Munah Anak Ngumbang (BS16110530)
ReplyDeleteBased on the video, we know that Loess Plateau are covering an area that is the size of France, it is a home for more than 50 million very poor farmers who have suffered of severe soil erosion, leading to a massive environmental degradation and poverty for centuries. This video shows that Loess Plateau contain more nutrients than sand, it is also much finer. Its silt-like nature is noted as being among the most erosion-prone soils known on the planet. During the past decades, great efforts were made in vegetation restoration to reduce soil erosion. However, the efficiency of vegetation restoration was not as satisfactory as expected due to water shortage. On 1999, China initiated a state-funded scheme named ‘Grain-for-Green’ on the Loess Plateau to reduce soil erosion and improve land quality. However, the control of soil erosion effectively by land-use modification raised problems. In order to control soil erosion and improve vegetation, a scientific and detailed land-use plan for the Loess Plateau has to be made, in the first instance, and then planning for wise use of water resources should be undertaken to control mass movement effectively and to improve land productivity. As the vegetation cover is restored, the entire area becomes actively part of a functional hydrological cycle. Due to the water being absorbed and stored in plants in an organic matter in the soil, evaporation and respiration rates are then altered increasing the humidity in the soil and in the air. The film Lessons of the Loess Plateau documents the remarkable rebirth of a damaged ecosystem, underscoring how a joint project of the Chinese government and the World Bank has transformed the landscape of the region and livelihood of its people.