Nomadic people of the Eurasian steppes have played a significant role in human history. Notable are the records of nomadic invasions in the 4th and 5th century and, later, of the Mongols in the 13th and 14th century. The important role of the horse in warfare and farming is among their contributions, around the interfaces with settled civilizations in the Middle East, China and Europe (Frankpan 2023). The features of these interactions are still playing out in parts of the 20th and 21st century.

In April 1998 the US Embassy in Beijing reported on the tension between the nomads in Inner Mongolia and nearby farming people, who are invading in large numbers and cause environmental havoc. It shows how closely natural and human factors are intertwined. “Two hundred thousand impoverished farmers, mostly Hui minority people from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, devastate the grasslands of Inner Mongolia each summer. They go there to harvest facai grass. Land per farmer in Ningxia fell by one-third during the 1980s ….

[and] Mongol minority herders are no match for gangs of 20 or more Hui nationality farmers, sometimes armed, who often poison wells to drive the herders away. (Chinese) desertification experts say facai harvesting is the chief cause of desertification in Inner Mongolia. A 1997 expert report… recommends a ban on facai harvesting and commerce combined with poverty alleviation programs for the 200.000 poor farmers involved. Human activities, rather than long range climate change, appear to be the main causes of desertification in Inner Mongolia.

Just as in other parts of China, the map of severe poverty largely coincides with that of rapidly growing minority populations, desertification and environmental devastation.” The large grassland steppes of Inner Mongolia are turning into sand deserts, according to a 2007 report from China ”The wild grass reached up to my knees in the past, ” according to a 40-year-old herdsman. ”But there’s very little grass now. It hasn’t rained here in six years and we have to buy fertilizers and feed for our livestock. We never needed these before.” Desert area in China is estimated to have increased from 17,6% of total land area in 1994 to about 27.5% in 2006. According to the report, many homes in Inner Mongolia and other western provinces have been swallowed up by sand, dumping sand in springtime not only on Beijing but also sending dust particles as far away as Korea, Japan and even the United States. It is causing respiratory problems, especially for children and the elderly. ”Eye infections are getting more serious and common because of the sandstorms.“ according to the chief of the Xilinhot City Peoples’ Hospital in Inner Mongolia. A ’Green Great Wall‘ of 700 km barrier of shrubs and trees has slowed down the desertification but has not stopped it completely.

Literature

Frankopan, P. (2023). The earth transformed: An untold history. Bloomsbury Publishing, London

[* The quotes in this story are from (http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/sandt/desmngca.htm) and (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST3183820071008)..]