Shi Guangyin, a Hero in the Fight Against Desertification1治沙英雄石光銀

修文喬

Shi Guangyin is an eco-warrior who has been battling desertification for close to 40 years. The farmer found his calling to green the barren landscape at a young age and in the process change the lives of people living there. “Combatting desertification is my sole career. My fight continues as long as my life continues. I shall not stop planting trees or combatting desertification until my last breath，” vows Shi.

Affliction by the sand

Shi was born in a township named Haiziliang on the southern edge of the Mu Us Desert in Dingbian County， northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province in February 1952. The local climate is tough， and so is life for the locals. Growing up in such an environment， Shi knows only too well how much pain and harm the encroaching sand can cause. He remembers how sandstorms used to terrorize the villagers and make their lives a misery. Sandstorms could also easily destroy all the crops the villagers had grown， and the invasive flow of sand dunes could swallow peoples houses.

In 1984， the government issued new policies to encourage individuals to plant trees in contracted sand lands and barren hills， hoping to rehabilitate the environment. Despite the objections of his family， Shi resigned from his leadership position at a state-owned farm and began his fight against desertification. Accompanied by his wife and children， he headed for the sand lands and contracted about 200 hectares of land where he founded Xinxing Ranch and Forest Farm （now Shaanxi Shiguangyin Sand Control Group）， Chinas first rural joint-stock limited corporation， dedicated to combatting desertification.

When he started out， Shi lacked both extra hands and funds. He spent all he had to purchase saplings. But it was still not enough. As a result， he sold the 84 sheep and one mule， on which the livelihood of his family depended. His other six companions also sold their livestock. Yet the amount was still not enough. In desperation， Shi went from household to household to borrow more money. Finally， he managed to raise RMB 120，000 to buy saplings， beginning his life as a green warrior.

What followed was tireless work by Shi and his team， planting several species of drought-enduring trees over the 200 hectares of sand. Although encouraged by a grand vision and firm determination， they faced hardships far greater than expected. “Living conditions back then were harsh. We all lived in the desert and had no food other than the hard， tasteless dried naan bread. Sometimes there were sandstorms and quite often someone would get blown away， so we had to pause our work and go search for him，” said Shi.

Yet they did have some luck on their side. After one year of hard work， with favorable weather and enough rainfall， 85 percent of the trees survived. Their first battle was won. The whole team was greatly encouraged and Shis faith in going forward was strengthened.

The one who perseveres prevails

The following year， Shi contracted another 3，867 hectares of land from the state-owned Changmaotan Forest Farm.

There were thousands of sand dunes， large and small， in the newly contracted land. Among them， the most difficult part was Langwosha.

Langwosha is an area of about 400 hectares where strong winds prevail all year round. Shi and his team had to live there for weeks on end， suffering from blowing gales， scorching sun， and sizzling sand. They lived in basic plastic tents， ate dry corn flour bread and drank muddy water from sand pits they dug to serve as wells. Added to that， the team had to carry in the saplings， on their backs.

After the success of the first year， their luck departed. Strong winds destroyed 90 percent of the saplings they had planted. In the spring of 1987， Shi and his team tried and failed again， when 80 percent of the saplings were uprooted by sandstorms. Yet Shi still held on to his faith. The failures reminded him to reflect. Before long he realized besides hard work， scientific research was also important. The team then set out to learn from successful cases and consult professionals in forest plantations and experts in plantation techniques.

In the spring of 1988， Shi challenged Langwosha the third time. This time he was equipped with a newly acquired technique. This technique enabled more than 80 percent of the planted saplings to survive.

After Shis third attempt at Langwosha， progress speeded up. In 1994 he contracted and rehabilitated 3，000 hectares of salt marsh， and 3，033 hectares of sand land in 1997. By the end of 2004， the 16，667 hectares of sand land and salt marsh contracted by Shi was fully and effectively rehabilitated. Moreover， he had accomplished a total afforestation area of 23，334 hectares. The achievement involved more than one million peoples work with tens of millions of yuan invested.

Fighting both sand and poverty

In his effort to combat desertification， Shi realized that controlling the sand goes hand in hand with fighting poverty. From 1997 on， he persuaded the poorest 50 households （272 people） who lived in the Baiyu Mountains to move outside the mountains and settle in the newly built village of Shilisha， in Dingbian Town， Dingbian City. He was inspired to do this by Chinas eco-migration policy. Gradually the new settlers started their new lives on the soil that used to be “an ocean of sand.” After several years of experiment and exploration， Shi and his team established an innovative business model and mobilized the villagers to develop an economy based on forestation and livestock breeding. Local peoples life has changed dramatically. This in turn boosted the villagers willingness to volunteer in combatting desertification.

He has been honored with multiple awards and invited to conferences of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification （UNCCD） to share his experience. In the view of Shi， combatting desertification is demanding and formidable： only those who persevere prevail.

石光銀是一位生態(tài)斗士，他與荒漠化斗爭了將近40年。自青年時代，他就肩負起在荒地植樹造林的使命，在這一過程中改變了當?shù)厝藗兊纳??！爸紊呈俏椅ㄒ坏氖聵I(yè)，只要一天不死，我就要栽一天樹，把治沙進行下去?！边@是石光銀立下的誓言。

飽受風沙之害

1952年2月，石光銀出生在陜西省西北部毛烏素沙漠南緣定邊縣海子梁鄉(xiāng)。當?shù)貧夂驉毫?、生活艱苦。自幼生活在這樣的環(huán)境中，石光銀深知肆虐的風沙給村民帶來多少痛苦和災(zāi)難。他記得沙塵暴曾讓村民談之色變，給他們帶來悲慘的生活。沙塵暴還可能輕易摧毀村民種植的所有莊稼，流動的沙丘四處侵襲，可能吞沒村民的房屋。

為了改善生態(tài)環(huán)境，1984年政府頒布新政策，鼓勵個人承包沙地、荒山，植樹造林。石光銀不顧家人反對，辭去國有農(nóng)場的場長職務(wù)，開始治沙。在妻兒的陪伴下，他奔向沙地，承包了3000畝，成立了中國第一個農(nóng)民股份制治沙有限公司——“新興林牧場”（即現(xiàn)在的陜西石光銀治沙集團）。

創(chuàng)業(yè)初期，石光銀既缺人手又缺資金。他花光所有積蓄購買樹苗，但資金還是不足。為此他賣掉全家賴以維持生計的84只羊和1頭騾子，6個創(chuàng)業(yè)伙伴也都變賣了各自的家畜，但樹苗款還是不夠。萬般無奈之下，石光銀只能挨家挨戶借錢，最終籌集資金12萬元購買樹苗，開啟了他作為綠色斗士的人生。

接下來石光銀和他的團隊不知疲倦地工作，在3000畝沙地上種植若干種耐旱的樹苗。雖然他們有遠大理想和堅定信念的支撐，但遇到的困難還是超乎想象。石光銀說：“那時候，生活條件很差，所有人都住在荒漠里，吃的是從家里帶來的硬到啃不動的干餅子。治沙的時候，我們還會遇上沙塵暴，有時風暴把人刮跑了，我們就得趕緊停下來去找人?！?/p>

所幸他們有運氣加持。經(jīng)過一年的艱辛勞作，加上天氣好、雨量足，樹苗存活率達85%。首戰(zhàn)告捷，整個團隊深受鼓舞，石光銀前進的信念更加堅定。

有志者事竟成

第二年石光銀與國有長茂灘林場簽訂合同，承包了約5.8萬畝荒地。

在新承包的荒地中，大大小小的沙丘有上千座，其中難度最大的要數(shù)狼窩沙。

狼窩沙占地約6000畝，長年大風呼嘯。石光銀和他的團隊在這里一住就是幾十天，忍受風吹、日曬、沙烤之苦。他們住的是用塑料布搭起的簡易小棚子，吃的是干玉米饃，喝的是沙坑里出來的沙糊糊。他們還要將樹苗背進狼窩沙。

這次他們沒有上一年那樣好運，栽種的樹苗90%都被大風吹毀。1987年春，80%的樹苗被沙塵暴連根拔起，石光銀和團隊的努力再次付諸東流。但石光銀仍然堅守信念。幾次失敗促使他進行反思。石光銀很快意識到，除了埋頭苦干，還要講求科學方法。于是他們團隊開始學習成功經(jīng)驗，請教造林專業(yè)人員和種植技術(shù)專家。

1988年春天，石光銀第三次挑戰(zhàn)狼窩沙。這次他帶著新學的種植技術(shù)，使得樹苗成活率達80%以上。

第三次奮戰(zhàn)狼窩沙之后，石光銀加快了治沙腳步。1994年和1997年，他分別承包并治理改善4.5萬畝鹽堿灘和4.55萬畝沙地。到2004年年底，石光銀承包的25萬畝沙地和鹽堿灘全部得到了有效的治理。此外，他完成的造林面積總計35萬畝，參與造林工程的人數(shù)超過100萬，投資總額高達數(shù)千萬元。

要治沙也要治窮

在防治荒漠化過程中，石光銀意識到，治沙與脫貧密切相關(guān)。受政府“生態(tài)移民”政策啟發(fā)，他從1997年起說服白于山區(qū)最貧困的50戶家庭（計272人）搬出大山，遷到定邊縣定邊鎮(zhèn)新建的十里沙村。新住戶逐漸在這片曾經(jīng)的“沙海”中開始新生活。經(jīng)過幾年的實驗和摸索，石光銀和他的團隊建立了嶄新的經(jīng)營模式，動員村民發(fā)展以造林和畜牧為基礎(chǔ)的經(jīng)濟。當?shù)厝嗣裆畹玫綐O大改善，大家自愿治沙的積極性也因此提高。

石光銀被授予多項榮譽稱號，并多次受邀參加《聯(lián)合國防治荒漠化公約》大會，分享治沙經(jīng)驗。在他看來，防治荒漠化勞心費力、困難重重：只有堅持不懈才能取得勝利。

[譯者單位：中國石油大學（北京）]