Global desertification was a growing problem, and the reduction of usable land area was a huge issue for humanity. Over the years, China had been actively implementing the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and had made visible progress. The solution adopted in our project is to use bacterial cellulose (BC) to prevent desertification and improve the survival rate of trees in arid environments. Thus contributing to SDG development goal:Life on Land(SDG 15),Climate Action(SDG13),Responsible Consumption and Production(SDG 12),Decent Work and Economic Growth(SDG 8). In order to practice and expand the impact of our project's sustainable development, we visited Ant Forest Company and Chenshan Botanical Garden Sand Plant Research Institute, which are currently engaged in desertification control work, and interviewed relevant experts to provide theoretical support and practical application suggestions for achieving our sustainable development goals.

Stakeholder/Activity	Interaction/Feedback	Related SDGs
Ant Group (Ant Forest)	According to feedback from Ant Forest, it is recognized that improving tree survival rates plays a key role in desertification control, and environmentally friendly materials that promote tree survival rates need to be emphasized. From the current achievements of the Ant Forest project, it can be seen that tree planting and ecological restoration can effectively improve the climate environment.	SDG 15 SDG 13 SDG 12
Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden	Understand the growth characteristics and cultivation methods of desert plants.	SDG 15
Yang Lihui	Understand the economic structure of cities with severe desertification and seek development ideas for improving desertification and tourism industry.	SDG 8 SDG 12
Professor Wang	Understand the stability of bacterial cellulose in desert environments.	SDG 15
Professor Xu	Improve the yield and performance of BC through genetic engineering methods, and optimize its application in desert environments.	SDG 15
Professor Tang	Conduct on-site assessment to determine soil and moisture conditions, and select suitable plant species; Then, through small-scale pilot projects, monitor plant growth and collect data to optimize planting strategies; Finally, establish a monitoring mechanism to record growth and ecological changes, providing a basis for continuous improvement.	SDG 15 SDG 13
Deqing Geospatial Information Technology Museum	Understand the application of geographic information technology in desertification monitoring and other areas. Enhance public awareness of sustainable development issues, and promote the use of related technologies in environmental protection and resource management, thereby supporting the achievement of environmental goals in SDGs.	SDG 15 SDG 13 SDG 12
Consumer Engagement	Understand the current level of public attention to desertification and environmental awareness.	SDG 12
Public SDG Engagement	Popularize knowledge on desertification prevention and control, call for environmental and climate protection.	SDG 12

Ant Group (Ant Forest)

Stakeholder Role:
Ant Forest is an innovative environmental protection project launched by Ant Group. Through Alipay platform, users are encouraged to take low-carbon actions to jointly participate in afforestation and help achieve the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. The Ant Forest project increased green areas and improved soil structure through afforestation activities, contributing to the protection of biodiversity and the restoration of ecosystems. Meanwhile, the project also encourages users to reduce their carbon footprint, and Ant Forest has achieved over 12 million tons of carbon reduction.

Feedback:
Our team visited Alipay Lab in Shanghai and interviewed a member of Alipay by having a call, Nuomu, who was working in the Alashan desert planting trees. He emphasized the importance of educating the younger generation using methods they enjoy and accept. When discussing the potential future use of bacterial cellulose as a water-retaining material to improve tree survival rates, he noted that this material must be cost-effective for widespread use. Its unique advantages lie in its sustainability and environmental friendliness. The primary cause of tree mortality is adverse weather, followed by the skill level of the planters. He noted that details such as tree species, planting time, and location all need to be verified by experts. The planting team also replaces dead trees to increase population density. At the same time, the survival of trees also affects the environment and climate, which are interdependent. To achieve sustainable development goals, it is necessary to improve the current situation of plant survival in sandy environments.

Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden

Stakeholder Role:
The Sand Plant Pavilion at Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden is renowned for its theme of "smart water use", showcasing over 1000 species of succulent plants from the Americas, Australia, Africa, and other regions. It is one of the largest sand plant pavilions in the world. This museum is a place to showcase plant diversity and an important base for researchers to study the mechanisms of plant adaptation to drought environments.

Feedback:
Interview and visit Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, inquire about the management methods of desert vegetation with its administrators, and learn how to balance different plant growth environments, strive to achieve the most suitable environment for vegetation growth, improve plant survival rates, and promote the achievement of SDG15 goals of improving the ecological environment and preventing desertification.

Yang Lihui

Stakeholder Role:
Head of Jinjiaxi Forest Scenic Area, Chuzhou. Travel Guider. She mainly works in the ecotourism industry and provides valuable advice for us to explore the implementation of SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth.

Feedback:
In the interview, Ms. Yang pointed out that the northwest region of China is facing severe desertification challenges, and improving this situation requires comprehensive strategies. Suggest planting drought-tolerant and deep-rooted plants, and using water-retaining materials to improve plant survival rates. At the same time, cultural tourism should be moderately developed and the environment should be protected through reasonable tourism management policies. Volunteer tourism and museum education can enhance public environmental awareness. In areas with severe desertification, emphasis should be placed on protection rather than large-scale tree planting, while utilizing modern technology to seek efficient methods for preventing and controlling desertification.

Professor Wang

Stakeholder Role:
Associate Researcher, Institute of Genetics and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her research field mainly focuses on plant development experts.

Feedback:
The interview with Professor Wang mainly asked about the impact of bacterial cellulose's water retention on plant growth, in order to verify whether our project can achieve the goal of combating desertification. Bacterial cellulose (BC), as a biomaterial with high water absorption and good biocompatibility, has potential application value in desert environments. Its stability under extreme climate conditions is a key factor in its application in deserts. Although BC is non-toxic to plant roots and provides support, its tolerance to high temperatures, drought, and saline-alkali conditions, as well as its ability to promote deeper root infiltration into the soil and enhance water nutrient absorption, still require further research. In addition, the biodegradability of BC may have a slower degradation rate under extreme desert conditions, which requires further investigation. In the long run, BC has the potential to become an ecological restoration tool, helping to improve seedling survival rates and soil structure.

Professor Xu

Stakeholder Role:
Associate Professor, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University. The natural yield of bacterial cellulose (BC) is not particularly low, but in order to achieve better cost control and economic benefits, it is necessary to increase the yield through genetic engineering and provide more conservation materials for plant conservation and survival.

Feedback:
Professor Xu suggested that we focus on increasing the availability of glucose-6-phosphate, a key precursor in BC biosynthesis, to achieve our goal. Specifically, this can be done by knocking out the glucose dehydrogenase (gdh) gene, which catalyzes the conversion of glucose into gluconate, and by overexpressing a heterologous glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (pgi). These modifications would lead to an accumulation of glucose-6-phosphate, ultimately increasing BC production.

Professor Tang

Stakeholder Role:
Professor, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University. Professor Tang is the chief expert in ecological civilization science education in China, with main research areas including ecology, ecological restoration, and agricultural ecology.

Feedback:
Based on Professor Tang's advice, we will conduct a thorough on-site assessment and integration to select the most suitable plant species for our specific environment. In addition, we will implement pilot projects to collect plant performance data, which will provide information for our long-term strategy and improve the overall success rate of our ecological restoration work.

Deqing Geospatial Information Technology Museum

Stakeholder Role:
The Deqing Geospatial Information Technology Museum not only showcases the development of the geographic information industry, but also serves as an important platform for promoting the achievement of the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Feedback:
We visited the Deqing Geographic Information Museum, where the successful launch and application of the "Deqing-1" satellite provided high-resolution, large-scale, and fast data acquisition for desertification monitoring. Through these technologies, the degree, trend, and influencing factors of desertification can be more accurately evaluated, providing scientific basis for formulating effective prevention and control strategies and assisting us in project evaluation and monitoring of SDG goals. In addition, the exhibition at the Deqing Geographic Information Museum also helps to enhance public awareness of desertification issues, strengthen social attention to sustainable development goals, and provide new ideas for event design.

Public

Survey of Desertification Awareness:
Preventing soil desertification is not solely the responsibility of the government and nonprofit organizations; it also requires active participation from people across all sectors of society. Thus, we investigated the public awareness of desertification by a questionnaire. We found that 81.82% of respondents were fully aware that land desertification would affect both their own future and that of future generations. Additionally, 66% of participants expressed willingness to contribute financial support monthly for desertification control efforts. While the donation amounts varied, given China's large population, this collective support represents a significant and impactful force.

SDG 15: Life on Land

Goal: 15.3 By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.

Our project aims to utilize the high water retention and environmentally friendly properties of bacterial cellulose to enhance the water retention capacity and survival rate of desertified trees, thereby further improving vegetation coverage, soil structure, and soil quality in desertified areas, achieving the sustainable development goal of restoring degraded land and preventing desertification expansion.

Our experimental results show that our bacterial cellulose can effectively alleviate the loss of soil moisture (see Engineering: https://2024.igem.wiki/nais/engineering).

To further understand the causal relationship between bacterial cellulose promoting soil water retention and tree survival rate, we utilized Sub-model 1 of Model 1 to predict tree survival rates based on multiple variables including water retention rate, demonstrating the relationship between water retention rate and tree survival rate. Then, using Sub-model 2 of Model 1, we predicted tree water retention rates based on factors such as nanofibril content, clarifying that cellulose can influence tree water retention rates. Ultimately, we established that cellulose could improve tree survival rates by affecting their water retention rates. (see Model: https://2024.igem.wiki/hw-shanghaiunited/model)

SDG 13: Climate Action

Goal: 13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

Our model data reveals an important finding: the water retention performance of bacterial cellulose significantly improves the survival rate of trees, which in turn has a positive impact on vegetation coverage. This discovery is consistent with the achievements of the Ant Forest project in reducing carbon emissions and improving the climate, which has successfully achieved over 12 million tons of carbon reduction. Our strategy not only increases vegetation coverage but also enhances carbon sequestration by improving tree survival rates, providing strong support for climate improvement actions.

1. By reducing the area of desert soil, our project helps to reduce CO2 emissions, as the increase in vegetation cover can enhance carbon sequestration capacity, thereby reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and resisting global warming.

2. Improved soil structure and water retention can help increase the utilization efficiency of rainfall, which may have a positive impact on the increase of average rainfall.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Goal: 12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

Bacterial cellulose is a biodegradable material that can improve soil water cycle efficiency and retain moisture, supporting sustainable management of water resources. It can reduce dependence on traditional chemical water retaining agents in long-term applications, promote effective utilization of resources, and meet responsible consumption and production goals.

Compared to other water retaining materials, BC has excellent physicochemical and mechanical properties such as purity, high crystallinity, high water storage capacity, high degree of polymerization, high surface area, and chemical stability. In addition, BC is biocompatible, biodegradable, and renewable compared to other water retention materials such as hydrogel, polyacrylamide (PAM), and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC).

SDG 12.2 aims to achieve zero growth in land degradation by 2030 through sustainable management, combating desertification, and halting and reversing land degradation. Bacterial cellulose, as a highly absorbent biomaterial, can improve vegetation survival rate, soil structure, support ecological restoration, enhance soil utilization, promote the circular economy industry chain, and achieve sustainable use of resources.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Goals: 8.4 Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead.
8.9 By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.

Our project contributes significantly to achieving sub goal 8.9 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, "Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all," by using highly water-retaining bacterial cellulose to control desertification land.

1. The formulation and implementation of sustainable tourism policies: By improving the ecological environment of desertified land, our project provides opportunities for local communities to develop sustainable tourism. This not only helps create employment opportunities, but also promotes the protection of local culture and the promotion of local products.

2. The combination of economic growth and environmental protection: The project supports economic growth while protecting the environment by promoting ecological restoration and sustainable land use, which is in line with the goal of SDG 8.4 to gradually improve the resource efficiency of global consumption and production by 2030, and strive to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation.

3. Promoting employment and reducing poverty: The employment opportunities created during project implementation contribute to reducing poverty and improving the living standards of local residents, which has a positive impact on achieving the goal of full and productive employment in SDG 8.

4. Promoting local culture and products: Through the development of sustainable tourism, the project also helps to promote local culture and products, which is consistent with the goal of "promoting local culture and products" mentioned in SDG 8.9.

This was confirmed in an interview with Yang Lihui. Through these efforts, our project has not only played a positive role in improving the ecological environment of desertification areas, but also provided support for promoting economic growth, employment, and cultural protection, making substantial contributions to achieving SDG 8.9.

Reducing desertification requires a combination of prevention and control, and prevention lies in the awareness of the entire population and the practice of sustainable development concepts. Therefore, we have designed a series of educational activities to raise public awareness of sustainable development and call for environmental protection.

Our science popularization activities at Xicheng Youth Palace in Beijing have also received official media coverage, further expanding our influence and influencing consumer behavior.

The primary objective of this model is to evaluate and dynamically assess the ecological impact of bacterial cellulose (BC) produced by genetically engineered Komagataeibacter xylinus and its application in combating desertification. By implementing a multi-level evaluation framework, we aim to comprehensively analyze the direct and indirect effects of BC on the environment, ensuring the project's sustainability and environmental friendliness.

To systematically evaluate the impact of our BC-based intervention, we adopt a hierarchical evaluation method that categorizes the impact into three major levels: environmental, economic, and socio-cultural. Each level further subdivides into specific indicators to enable a nuanced analysis.

The data utilized in Model3 is derived from a comprehensive and diverse set of sources, meticulously selected to ensure accuracy, reliability, and comprehensiveness in evaluating the ecological, economic, and socio-cultural impacts of bacterial cellulose (BC) produced by genetically engineered Komagataeibacter xylinus and its application in combating desertification.

We conclude that our project demonstrates a significantly positive ecological impact. BC application leads to improved soil health, increased biodiversity, enhanced water retention, and improved climate regulation. These benefits contribute to a more resilient and sustainable ecosystem.

Economic Impact: The cost-benefit analysis reveals that the long-term benefits of increased agricultural productivity and reduced desertification outweigh the initial investment. Job creation also positively impacts local economies.

Socio-Cultural Impact: Improved ecological conditions contribute to better community well-being, food security, and cultural preservation. Enhanced community engagement demonstrates the project's acceptance and support among stakeholders.

Challenges

○ Adaptive Challenge: The long-term stability and tolerance of bacterial cellulose (BC) still need further research in high temperature, drought, and saline alkali environments, especially in desert environments with a lack of organic matter and extreme dryness.

○ The interaction between plant roots and BC: The role of BC can improve the soil's water retention capacity, but whether it can promote deeper infiltration of plant roots in barren desert soil needs further verification.

○ Degradation rate and ecological impact: Although BC can be biodegraded, its degradation rate may be slower under extreme conditions. It is still unclear whether long-term retention of BC materials will have a negative impact on soil ecosystems.

○ Cost effectiveness issue: The production and application costs of BC are key factors in achieving large-scale promotion. How to ensure economic feasibility in desert prevention and control, especially in the initial application stage with high costs, is a major challenge.

Proposed solution

○ Technical optimization and on-site testing: In response to the tolerance issues of BC, the team should further improve its performance through genetic engineering, such as enhancing its adaptability to extreme high temperatures, droughts, and saline alkali environments. By genetic modification, the yield and performance of BC can be improved for wider application in various environments.

○ Ecological benefits and risk assessment: The effect of BC on plant roots under different climatic conditions should be evaluated through small-scale on-site testing to observe whether it can effectively promote deep infiltration of plant roots. Combining long-term degradation testing, study the impact of BC on soil structure and microbial community.

○ Sustainable cost optimization: Based on laboratory and field testing, gradually optimize the production process of BC, find more economical production solutions, and reduce production costs. In addition, unit costs can be reduced through large-scale production, making BC a more cost-effective material.

○ Localization solution: By collaborating with local governments, communities, and businesses to promote the use of local resources and plant species, combined with BC for ecological restoration, we aim to reduce transportation costs and enhance the adaptability of local ecosystems.

Monitoring methods

○ Remote sensing technology and GIS monitoring: Long-term monitoring of land cover, vegetation growth, and water changes in desertification areas through remote sensing technology and geographic information systems (GIS). These technologies can help teams track project progress in real-time and assess the impact of BC on vegetation cover and soil quality. This is consistent with the application value of the "Deqing NO.1" satellite mentioned in our visit to the Deqing Geographic Information Museum.

○ Soil and vegetation monitoring stations: Set up ground monitoring stations in target areas to regularly collect key data on soil moisture, nutrient composition, soil structure changes, and plant growth. These sites can assess the long-term impact of BC on soil quality and vegetation growth, ensuring the reliability and sustainability of project outcomes.

○ Biodiversity monitoring: Monitor the impact of BC on biodiversity in desert areas, including changes in plant, microbial, and animal communities. By regularly assessing the health status of the ecosystem, ensure that BC does not have negative impacts on the local ecosystem.

○ Degradation performance monitoring: Through long-term degradation experiments in the laboratory and field, regularly evaluate the degradation rate of BC to ensure that it will not have long-term negative impacts on the soil environment, and study the impact of its degradation products on the soil.

Our project has significantly promoted the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15, "Life on Land," by using highly water-retaining bacterial cellulose for desertification control. By restoring and protecting land, we aim to enhance biodiversity.

At the same time, the project has contributed to SDG12 "Responsible Consumption and Production" by improving the efficiency of water resource utilization and promoting sustainable tourism policies, fostering sustainable environmental management and efficient resource utilization.

In addition, the project supports SDG13 "Climate Action" by reducing land degradation and enhancing soil carbon storage capacity to combat climate change.

At the economic level, the project has created employment opportunities for the local community, promoted economic growth, and is in line with the SDG8 goals of "Decent Work and Economic Growth." Overall, our project has not only had a positive impact on improving the ecological environment, but also made substantial contributions to promoting sustainable economic and social development.

Through the interaction and communication among Ant Forest (desertification control project), technical experts, monitoring agencies, and others, we have clarified the contribution of our methods to the achievement of SDG goals.

However, there are still challenges in the adaptability of BC, the interaction between plant roots and BC, and the degradation rate of BC, which need to be further optimized and tested in the future.

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