The 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Riyadh highlights a critical global challenge: desertification threatening ecosystems, economies, and the livelihoods of over two billion people worldwide.
With land degradation costing the global economy approximately $400 billion annually in lost productivity, the urgency to address this issue has never been greater. Climate change exacerbates the problem, as higher temperatures, prolonged droughts, and erratic rainfall patterns accelerate the loss of arable land. Amid this crisis, the Chinese mainland’s extraordinary success in combating desertification emerges as a powerful model for the world.
Historically one of the countries severely affected by desertification, China has reversed the tide through bold, science-driven policies and grassroots action. Central to this transformation is the “Three-North Shelterbelt Project” in northeastern China, an ambitious afforestation initiative often called the “Green Great Wall.”
Launched in 1978, the project spans over 4.9 million square kilometers across northern, northwestern, and northeastern China—areas once plagued by relentless sandstorms and encroaching deserts. Over the decades, this effort has rehabilitated more than 6.6 million hectares of degraded land, stabilized the edges of major deserts, and dramatically reduced the frequency and severity of sandstorms in northern China.
Since the project’s inception, more than 66 billion trees have been planted. Forest coverage in the Three-North regions has risen from just 5 percent in 1977 to nearly 13 percent, and vegetation coverage in key desertified zones has reached 55 percent. Northern China, which once faced the annual threat of devastating sandstorms, now experiences a more stable climate and fewer environmental disasters.
China’s success story demonstrates that concerted effort and innovative policies can restore degraded lands and combat climate change’s adverse effects. As the international community gathers to address desertification, China’s model offers valuable lessons and a hopeful roadmap for sustainable development worldwide.
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China's desertification victory offers a roadmap for sustainability
cgtn.com
