[01:16.90]Forests help to keep water from running away,so drought does not often happen.
[02:02.07]The trees in theforests can keep rain drops from hiting the soil directly,
[02:11.74]so the soil is not easily washed away.
[02:50.50]The dead leaves on the ground also keep the water from running away.
[03:24.33]The water then stays in one place and is used by the trees in the forests.
[03:34.57]In this way,floods are prevented.
[06:48.63]Chinese people do not want to see more floods and droughts,
[06:56.18]so they have built a new Great Wall across the northern part of the country.
[07:03.94]This time,it is a "Great Wall"of trees,millions of trees.
[08:28.32]The Great Green Wall is 7,000 kilometres long,
[08:35.47]and between 400 and 1,700 kilometres wide.
[09:17.64]The Great Green Wall will stop the wind from blowing the earth away.
[10:05.78]It will stop the sand from moving towards the rich farmland in the south.
[10:32.45]It has already saved a lot of land.
[10:38.20]But more"Great Green Walls"are still needed,and not only in China.
[10:46.37]They must be built all over the world.
[13:16.73]Wang Feng is a worker at Yulin in Shanxi Province.
[13:23.68]He works on the Great Green Wall with many other people.
[13:29.95]We visited him at his workplace among the young trees
[13:36.80]and asked him about his work.
[14:34.08]"Many thousands of trees must be planted every year,"he said.
[14:33.08]"The more,the better.
[14:54.43]This year alone,we've already planted ten thousand trees.
[15:11.77]You see all those small trees over there on that hill?
[15:25.82]That was sand five years ago.Now it's young forest!
[15:52.36]In a few years' time,those mountains will be covered with trees,too!"
[16:13.03]He pointed to the high mountains far away.
[16:28.65]Was it difficult to work on the Great Green Wall?
[16:41.79]"Yes.It's hard work,but it's very important.
[17:04.25]The only problem is you can't eat trees!
[17:10.42]We have to grow our own food,too.
[17:42.37]But thanks to the Great Green Wall,the land produces more crops |