A POPCORN AND MOVIE NIGHT FILM!! In northwest China's Loess Plateau, an area roughly the size of France and the birthplace of Chinese civilization, agriculture and grazing practices over the many centuries had transformed the once lush forests into a dry and degraded ecosystem.

 

As the soil eroded and its silt raised the riverbed, seasonal flooding, drought, and famine plagued the region.

 

In 1995, the World Bank and the Chinese government launched this "Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project" - its largest development project to date. It ambitiously set out to restore what was destroyed over the centuries.

 

In working with Chinese planners from the Ministry of Water Resource over a 10-year period, international planners from the World Bank were able to help reshape the hydrology, soil dynamics, forestry, agricultural practices, and economic viability of the land. They engaged villagers and brought vast ecological improvements and new economic opportunities to the locals. 

 

It is a hopeful representation of how if we work to protect our natural systems, even those that might seem impossible to save, life can be saved. Incredible!