Turning back desertification doesn't have to cost the earth
The New York Times (free rego) has an interesting article on a local change in farming practices in Niger which valued tree saplings and nurtured them rather than removing them as an obstacle to crop-farming. The result that while the rest of the region suffered from famine during a drought, the trees helped to hold down topsoil and provided additional income from tree products such as branches and seeds. It doesn't cost the earth and it doesn't fix all the local problems but it gives hope that we don't have to have all the answers to solve some of the questions.
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