China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Mongolia have agreed on a plan to jointly fight sandstorms, a senior Chinese environmental protection official has said.

The four Asian nations would together monitor atmosphere and land restoration, said Liu Tuo, head of the desertification prevention and treatment department under the State Forestry Administration (SFA).

"We will launch the plan once we get financial support," he told Xinhua at the ongoing Beijing International Conference on Women and Desertification.

Sandstorms have hit China 17 times since early this year, with 12 of them crossing international borders, Liu said.

"Sandstorms will only be effectively handled with international cooperation," Liu said.

Zhu Lieke, deputy director of the State Forestry Administration, said the Chinese government had made a priority of seeking international cooperation to combating sandstorms.

The Chinese Academy of Forestry had set up an Asian monitoring and review network of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), as well as a UNCCD training center, Zhu said.

Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu called for global cooperation and the participation of women in fighting against desertification.

"The solution to the difficult problem of desertification needs the joint efforts of the international community," Hui told the Beijing International Conference on Women and Desertification.

Situated in the central Asia sandstorm region, one of the world's four largest sandstorm source areas, China is suffering from sandstorms originating from both outside the country and within its own borders. It has been blamed for contributing to sandstorms across northeast Asia.

The other three major sources are in Africa, North America and Australia.

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2006)