China leads in combating desertification

With more than half of its reclaimable desertified land treated, China has taken the lead globally in achieving zero growth in land degradation and become the largest contributor to global afforestation, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

Since 2012, China has seen its desertified land decrease by 4.3 million hectares, said Guan Zhiou, head of the administration, reporting to an ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, on Tuesday.

"This demonstrates a positive trend of overall improvement and accelerated enhancement," he said.

He credited the achievement to a series of concerted efforts by the country to promote initiatives aimed at controlling desertification, underpinned by the establishment of a robust and effective legal framework.

Currently, the legal framework has included six national laws, including laws for sand prevention and control, as well as forest and wetland conservation, he noted, adding the 13 key provincial regions for desertification control have all enacted regional regulations on the issue.

He highlighted the significant roles of a series of projects in tackling desertification, including the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, which was launched in 1978.

Thanks to these projects, 35.9 million hectares of desertified land have been brought under protection and 7.9 million hectares of such land have been effectively treated, he shared.

Guan elaborated that within the expansive scope of the Three-North program spanning from northwestern to northeastern China, the forest coverage rate has risen significantly from approximately 12.4 percent to 13.8 percent. Moreover, effective measures have successfully controlled soil erosion on 61 percent of the affected land.

He continued by noting that within the Yellow River Basin, the boundary delineating regions with and without vegetation cover has shifted approximately 300 kilometers westward. Due to these efforts, northern China has embraced a remarkable decrease in the number of days with severe sand and dust weather, he added.

He also noted, however, China is still confronted with an arduous task to forge ahead with desertification control, considering the size of its desertified land and the severity.

"Currently, there are 47.2 million hectares of desertified land that can be reclaimed across the country," he said. "Of them, 22.2 million hectares remain untreated, mainly concentrated in the Three-North region and are all hard nuts to crack," he said.

The official vows a series of measures to advance the work, including incentivizing the public and enterprises to participate in desertification control.

China will tap into different modes to encourage farmers and herdsmen to participate in desertification control, he continued.