YAN’AN, CHINA: (FILES) Photo dated 26 May 2005 shows an ant sustains itself from the growth of a newly reforested hillside overlooking terraced fields of compact yellow earth, known as loess on the outskirts of Yan’an in western China’s Shaanxi province, where World Bank loan projects help rehabilitate the loess plateau and aid the local population with growing trees and crops in an otherwise and once desolate landscape. China is starting to enjoy successes in its fight against desertification but experts warn the battle against one of the country’s most pressing environmental problems is far from over as more than a quarter of China’s total land area has been classified as desertified and the degradation is adversely affecting the lives of more than 400 million people, or 30 percent of its population. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
