While examination of national erosion rates and patterns of erosion is enlightening and necessary, the full impact of soil erosion and the potential soil conservation to influence human lives cannot be fully appreciated without examining specific cases and specific regions. The benefits of soil conservation go far beyond the checking of environmental damage; they have a direct impact on the living standards of the individuals living in that environment. Particularly in developing countries, where efforts to maintain or increase rural living standards often result in environmental degradation, soil conservation has the potential and responsibility to become a force that contibutes to rural development. As has been noted by Wen Dazhong in Chapter 3, the Loess Plateau is one of the most severe erosion regions in China. The following discussion of soil conservation and its socio-economic effects in Dingxi County in the Loess Plateau examines the connections between the ecological benefits of soil conservation and the problems of rural development.

Dingxi County and the Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau includes a total of 138 counties located in ten provinces including Gansu, Qinghai, and Ningxia. Around 80% of its total land area, 690 000 km2, is affected by soil erosion. Although it is thought that the Loess Plateau was once largely forested, a history of intensive agriculture, over-harvesting of forests, and thoughtless development has left the Loess Plateau almost treeless.