Wherever they settle, humans tend to chop down trees and clear land. This loss of vegetation affects the land’s ability to retain moisture. Grazing animals trample and consume plants when they try to grow back. The soil loses its structure and is washed away – hence the silt in Lake Bardawil. Van der Hoeven calculated the lake contained about 2.5bn cubic metres of silt. If one were to restore the Sinai, this vast reserve of nutrient-rich material was exactly what would be needed. “It became clear we had a massive opportunity,” he says. “It wasn’t the solution to a single problem; it was the solution to all the problems.”

Some fascinating reading about a teams of people and governments who have figured out how to restore now-arid lands back to their original climate. The Loess area of Northern China had been so damaged by human activity over hundreds of years, but they were able to reverse that 20 years ago! 

Read more at: The Scientists Turning the Deserts Green Again