China now an intl model for tackling desertification

Since 2012, China has successfully implemented sandification control measures on over 24 million hectares of land and additionally placed almost 1.9 million hectares under enclosed conservation, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

The information was disclosed in a media release from the administration on Tuesday, which coincided with the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.

Sandification refers to the change whereby an environment becomes sandy.

China conducts a national survey on desertification and sandification every five years. The four surveys conducted since 2000 have consistently indicated reductions in both the extent of land affected by desertification and sandification, and the severity of these problems, the administration noted.

The hazards of wind-sand disasters have been well controlled, with the total areas affected by wind erosion in the eight major deserts and four major sandy regions across the country decreasing by about 40 percent from 2000 to 2019, it continued.

"China has taken the lead in achieving the goal of zero growth in land degradation, becoming the world's largest contributor to afforestation and an international model for combating desertification," it said.

The release particularly highlighted a significant transformation brought about by the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program in the past 40 years.

The project has not only halted the spread of deserts but has also expanded vegetated areas into the desert, fostering economic development in the process, it underscored.

As of now, the project has afforested 32 million hectares, restored over 85.3 million hectares of degraded grassland, and effectively treated 44.7 million hectares of land plagued by water and soil erosion, as revealed by the administration.

The forest coverage in regions enveloped by the significant project has reached 13.84 percent, compared with 5.05 percent in 1977, it revealed, adding that 61 percent of areas suffering from water and soil loss in these regions has been effectively treated.