China Retreats from Deserts

China is proceeding with its plan to relocate Chinese farmers who live on the edge of deserts.This loss of land will be amplified as Global warming proceeds. For China, the melting of Tibet's glaciers well effect their water supply and put a further restraint on China's agricultural land. Water is needed for the production of rice. Rice is the main crop of southeast Asia and constitutes the main diet of this area. Rice is presently a relatively cheap commodity,allowing it to be affordable to the areas poor. The Chinese farmers who are being relocated have farmed the land for generations and do not want to leave. The areas are being planted with wild grass and trees(over a billion trees have been planted so far). The price of rice has been rising as of late and this puts further strains on the backs of the poor. Some predict that as the price of rice rises the area of southeast Asia will become more politically unstable. For a in depth look at China's efforts to stave off the deserts and its effect on people see:
China sounds retreat against encroaching deserts.