Chinanews, Beijing, Oct 26 – Sandstorms are a big problem that affects the ecological environment in Beijing. The warning that "sandstorms are approaching Beijing city" is not alarmist talk. In recent years, Beijing has invested about 300 million yuan to tackle the sandstorms problem. As a result, 50,000 hectares of sandy land have been brought under control. In the next three years, Beijing municipal government plans to green 4,765 hectares of sandy land. Experts predict that with these efforts the sandstorms problem should be eradicated in Beijing.In fact, Beijing municipal government has taken effective actions to combat sandstorms and such actions are widely applauded by the public. Researchers have turned a lot of sandy land into farmlands and forests. Some biological methods have also been used to green the land. People plant trees and use aeroplanes to sow seeds on the sandy land to create woods. In Beijing, the Yongding and Chaobai rivers, which were regarded as two major sources of sandstorms, are now covered with lush trees, said a technician at an afforestation department.In addition to Beijing, local municipal government has got more trees planted in the neighboring regions. Beijing municipal government has allocated 100 million yuan to help Zhangjiakou and Chengde local authorities to plant 200,000-mu of shelter forests. The measure has prompted more people to plant trees in these two places. The ecological environment of Beijing's surrounding areas has imrproved year by year. In addition, Beijing's monitoring system for sandy land and its sandstorms pre-warning system have been expanded to its neighboring regions. As a result, the ecological environment of Beijing's neighboring areas has also become much better than before.With the south-to-north water diversion project, much water will be diverted to Beijing from the sourthern region. By then, the rivers and the underground water system in Beijing will get sufficient water supply. This will also improve the city's natural environment.