Reporters learned at a press conference held in Guangzhou on the 10th that to commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Australia, the “China-Australia Desert Crossing” expedition and scientific research activity will recruit a multinational joint exploration team of 40 brave individuals globally. This summer and autumn, they will respectively take on challenges in the inland desert regions of Australia and China’s Xinjiang Kumukuli Desert, and carry out a series of environmental protection expeditions and scientific research activities.
This is the world’s first intercontinental desert crossing event, jointly organized by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association. According to a relevant official from the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, as one of the major events organized this year to mark the 40th anniversary of China-Australia diplomatic ties, the desert crossing aims to raise global awareness about the severe impact of desertification on humanity.
To this end, the organizers will recruit globally experts in desertification research, ecological studies of sandy regions, humanities and sociology, as well as artists, adventure enthusiasts, public figures, and senior media professionals, to form a 40-member joint exploration and scientific research team. They will cross the world’s largest desert—the Australian desert region—and the world’s highest-altitude desert—China’s Xinjiang Kumukuli Desert—this summer and autumn respectively.
To expand the impact, the entire event will last one year, with the desert crossings taking 40 days in total (20 days each in China and Australia). During this period, the joint exploration team members will issue a global call to “Protect the Earth and Prevent Desertification” from Uluru, the giant rock in the heart of Australia’s Simpson Desert known as the “Center of the World.” They will also organize a series of activities including pairing up of desert indigenous peoples (Aboriginals) from both countries, soliciting global proposals to create an “Earth Life Clock,” a desertification forum, and an exhibition tour showcasing the achievements of the expedition and scientific research.
According to Xu Xinwen, executive deputy director of the National Engineering Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a renowned desert research expert, desertification affects 3.6 billion hectares of land worldwide, accounting for approximately 25% of the Earth’s total land area, with 110 countries facing the risk of land degradation. “Currently, 12 million hectares of land are lost each year. If the process of desertification is not halted, over the next 10 years, 50 million people could face the risk of being forced to abandon their homes, which is equivalent to the total population of South Korea.”
