After driving east along the N3 national highway for about an hour and a half from the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott, a vibrant green park appeared in the Gobi Desert. This is the China Africa Green Technology Park project jointly built by China and Mauritius. Both sides are actively exploring ways to prevent and control desertification, improve people's livelihoods, and cultivate technical talents, helping Mauritania cope with the challenges of natural environment and climate change, and providing new demonstrations for green development in Africa. Vegetables have been grown in the desert, and Chinese scientists are doing well. "Walking into the park, rows of Sudanese beans, eggplants, and tomatoes have been harvested, and melons and watermelons are fist sized. Further inside, the Arabic Acacia saplings, pearl millet, and Egyptian soursop seedlings waiting for transplantation are lush and green. The gentle breeze blows, and the young plants sway gently, emitting a faint fragrance. Last year, we harvested around 900 kilograms of vegetables and fruits, which were provided free of charge to about 6000 villagers in 15 surrounding villages. The villagers praised us for growing vegetables in the sandy land. Chinese scientists are doing a great job! ”Mahmoud Abdulrahman, Deputy Director of the Mauritania National Agency for the Great Green Wall of Africa, said. To resist the threat of southward invasion of the Sahara Desert, 11 sub Saharan African countries, including Mauritania, have formulated the "African Green Wall" plan - to build a forest protection belt that is 15 kilometers wide and over 7000 kilometers long, to prevent desertification in the Sahel region through ecologically sustainable means, and to solve the problems of land degradation and desertification in sub Saharan Africa and even the entire arid region of Africa. The Sino African green technology park project is jointly implemented by China and Mauritius, and the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "Xinjiang Institute of Geography") provides demonstration area construction and follow-up technical support. The project covers an area of 4 hectares and mainly includes peripheral sand prevention and control areas, economic fruit forest areas, sandy soil vegetable planting areas, grass planting areas, and poultry breeding areas. It is a specific practice of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology's key research and development project "Practical Technology Cooperation Research and Demonstration of Desertification Prevention and Control in Key Areas of the African Green Great Wall". It is reported that since the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed the first cooperation agreement with Mauritania in 2017 to participate in the promotion of the "Green Great Wall in Africa" program, the China Africa Green Technology Park project has achieved a series of remarkable results in Mauritania. 100 hectares of sandy land has been successfully fixed, of which 4 hectares of sandy land has been transformed into a sustainable oasis through China's sand fixation technology. Zhou Na, deputy researcher at Xinjiang Institute of Geology, said, "We will continue to carry out monitoring and research, striving to form a replicable and promotable technological path suitable for the construction of the 'African Green Great Wall' plan." "My job is very valuable in contributing to the well-being of the Mauritanian people." There are many "new equipment" in the China Africa Green Technology Park: there are dozens of photovoltaic panels in the center of the park - this is a photovoltaic water lifting system. The photovoltaic power generation drives the water pump to pump water from the well, combined with an intelligent irrigation system, to supply water to the fruits and vegetables in the park. The white columnar objects buried in the sand pit together form an intelligent monitoring system for soil moisture, which can measure the moisture and temperature of soil at different depths, and can also be transmitted to the data center through the Internet. Combining the synchronous monitoring data of the meteorological station, the field irrigation can be reasonably controlled. In Zhou Na's opinion, the Central African Green Technology Park is a "testing ground for green technology". A tripartite collaborative mechanism of "research institutions+advantageous enterprises+demonstration bases" has been formed around this project: research institutions are responsible for technology research and development and model innovation, advantageous enterprises provide standardized production and quality control of supporting materials and products as needed, and demonstration bases serve as the core platform for technology integration, verification, and demonstration promotion. In a corner of the park, irrigation technician Mohammad Isselmu crouched in the sand, skillfully replacing the electromagnetic valve and intelligent control spray valve components, a skill he had already mastered last year. He said, "Chinese colleagues come from Xinjiang, where the natural environment is similar to ours, and there are many successful experiences in desertification prevention and control. With the help of Chinese colleagues, I believe that green development can be achieved here." It is reported that the China Africa Green Technology Park project has completed green technology training for 45 local technicians and directly created 120 job opportunities for the local community. Turad Maidu, the coordinator of the project in Mauritania, studied in China for two years and is currently an official at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Mauritania, responsible for promoting green technology cooperation between China and Africa. He said that many young people who used to make a living from animal husbandry in the local area have now mastered the operation of water pumps, drip irrigation debugging, and seedling planting techniques. He himself has also participated in it and benefited greatly. The Mao China cooperation project has made contributions to improving the well-being of the Mauritanian people, and my job is very valuable. The Chinese side has put forward the concept that green mountains and clear waters are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver, and we hope to learn from China's experience in green development. The Central African Green Technology Park project has achieved outstanding results, and we are developing plans to make it a demonstration project in Africa and promote it in other regions of Mauritania and even other African countries. ”Mahmoud said. Not only is it a bilateral cooperation project, but it is also a green transformation sowing hope for the future. Not far from the China Africa Green Technology Park, the acacia trees are like umbrellas. Last year, we aerial sowed Arabic Acacia, Egyptian sour leaved wood, pearl millet, and hot vine in an area of approximately 20 acres, achieving a comprehensive survival rate of over 40% without any human intervention. ”Pang Guocong, the head of the Mauritania representative office of China Carbon Forest Resources (Beijing) Co., Ltd., introduced that the company has established a demonstration area for China Carbon Forest Afforestation Technology in the adjacent area through cooperation with the China Africa Green Technology Park, promoting the organic combination of China's experience in desertification control and the "African Green Great Wall" plan. How do these plants survive in the desert during Mauritania's 9-month dry season each year? Pang Guocong said that the company has selected tree species suitable for desert conditions and introduced a unique "tree species ball" technology - the tree species are wrapped in a "soil lump" with a diameter of 3 to 5 centimeters, which is rich in fertilizer and water and can support early growth of the tree species. Based on this successful experience, in December 2024, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Mauritania, the National Agency of Mauritania for the "Great Green Wall of Africa", and representatives of Chinese scientific research and enterprises jointly signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly build a 10000 hectare carbon sequestration forest. The plan is to use the experience of the China Africa Green Technology Park as a blueprint to create a standardized, replicable, and adaptable regional governance model. The relevant person in charge of Mao Fang stated that the planting effect of the 20 acre experimental area has verified the potential of Chinese technology to be applied to African deserts. In the next step, both parties will reduce costs and increase efficiency through mechanization and community cooperation, and help promote the "African Green Great Wall" plan. "Green development is not only an integral part of China's joint implementation of the" eight actions "," nine projects "and" ten partnership actions "with African countries, but also an important part of China Africa high-quality joint construction of the" the Belt and Road ". ”Lei Qianqiang, a researcher at the Xinjiang Institute of Geology and Vice President of the Chinese Society for Desertification Control and Sand Industry, stated that Chinese experts will continue to collaborate with the Mongolian side to make contributions to desertification control and green development in African countries such as Mauritania. The Minister of Agriculture of Mauritania, Hamahura, expressed gratitude to China for its long-term support and assistance in Mauritania's agricultural production. He hopes to learn from China's experience and technology in water-saving irrigation, agricultural mechanization, and vegetable cultivation in farmland, and help promote the efficient development of Mauritania's agriculture. The China Africa Green Technology Park is not only a bilateral cooperation project, but also a green transformation sowing hope for the future. ”The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Mauritania, Lagedaf, said that this cooperation is truly mutually beneficial and win-win. (New Society)