Recently, the second bid section of the desertification control project of Xiangride River Basin in Dulan County, Qinghai Province in 2025 for the Three-North Shelterbelt Program contracted by China Railway 23rd Bureau officially started. This is the first desertification control project undertaken by a central enterprise in Dulan County and even Haixi Prefecture after the inclusion of desertification prevention and control in the national Three North Project plan in Qinghai Province, which is of great significance.

The project is led by the Agriculture and Forestry Ecological Branch of China Railway 23rd Bureau, with a bid amount of 67.0261 million yuan and a construction period of 122 days. It covers Xiangride Town, Zongjia Town, and Xiangjia Township in Dulan County, and the construction unit is the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Dulan County. As an important ecological barrier on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the Qaidam Basin has been affected by drought and sandstorms in recent years, leading to the expansion of locally desertified land, threatening regional ecological security and restricting the development of agriculture and animal husbandry. This governance project has emerged to address this problem in a targeted manner.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, the project party held a technical briefing to clarify the core requirements. The construction follows the process of sand fixation first and green planting follow-up. The straw sand barrier needs to be laid before the end of October to prevent construction from being halted due to low temperatures during the frozen soil period in November; The materials shall be resistant to wind erosion and aging, and the shrub seedlings shall be soaked for root promotion before planting; In quality management, key indicators such as the smoothness of sand barrier laying and the depth of seedling planting are checked and accepted throughout the entire process.

The engineering plan is scientifically and reasonably implemented, with 45700 acres of sand fixation and 2.27 million drought resistant shrubs planted. At the same time, 600 acres of degraded forest restoration and 9100 acres of sand sealing for afforestation and grass cultivation will be carried out simultaneously. A 56000 meter high vertical HDPE sand blocking net will be set up to construct a complete sand control chain from sand blocking, sand fixation to green protection, which meets the requirements of scientific sand prevention and precise sand control, and can enhance soil conservation capacity and improve the ecological environment of sand areas.

China Railway 23rd Bureau has rich construction experience. The Lhasa North South Mountain Camp afforestation project previously undertaken has entered the nurturing period, and the Longquan Mountain ecological protection and restoration project has formed a mature forest and grass restoration technology system. The project leader stated that they will strictly follow the requirements for construction, ensure that the project quality meets the standards, and provide replicable experience for the treatment of desertified land in Haixi Prefecture.

Currently, Qinghai Province is accelerating the implementation of the sixth phase of the Three North Project and the Xiangride River Basin Management Project, which will improve the sand prevention and control system in the Qaidam Basin. This has profound significance for consolidating the achievements of ecological improvement and ensuring the ecological security of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau.Editor/Cheng Liting