Germany's Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen concluded on Friday three days of talks between German and Chinese experts on how the countries can cooperate to address climate issues.

"As especially innovative nations," Roettgen said, "China and Germany are called upon to lead the way toward the worldwide development of a greener economy."

But China has far to go before it achieves anything resembling a green economy. As the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gasses, China's rapid economic and industrial development has contributed to major environmental problems domestically.

Water shortages and accelerating desertification are just a few of the challenges facing the populous nation.

China's southern region, for instance, is currently suffering its most severe drought in centuries, while the effects of sandstorms originating in the north are felt as far away as Hong Kong, located thousands of kilometers to the south.

Quickly destroyed, slowly rebuilt

Minqin County in the northwestern province of Gansu is particularly endangered by a desert growing quickly next door.

"Some villages at the border to the desert had to be evacuated due to the wells drying up, while some houses have been buried completely in sand," said Sun Qingwei of the Academy of Sciences in Gansu's capital, Lanzhou.

"There's much talk, but nothing is getting done. A lot of places are in danger - this is really a basic political issue."

Problems with desert expansion aren't limited to the Gansu province, though. In the east, the desert is creeping closer and closer to Beijing. There, officials like Wang Jianfeng of the Hunshandake Desert Control Station have condemned the role major businesses play in destroying the environment and enabling desert regions to grow.

"There are areas where firms are generating their profits by hurting the environment," Wang said. "The environment can be destroyed within a year but needs at least 100 years to regenerate itself."

A "temporary" solution

The Chinese government is attempting to address problems relating to the desert and related water shortages by drawing upon a fifty-eight-year-old idea put forward by Mao Zedong.

The government has begun a massive building project that would funnel water from less arid areas to afflicted regions. In some cases, the water would be transported thousands of kilometers.

For years, geographer Bernd Wuennemann has worked on a desert research project in China sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service. He is skeptical of the Chinese government's proposal.

"In light of the long distances the water will have to travel, evaporation will become a significant factor. The project may work as a temporary measure to address the needs of a region, but in so doing, it may ultimately create shortages elsewhere," Wuennemann said.

Author: Astrid Freyeisen (gsw/AP)
Editor: Kyle James