Restoring the Land: Unlocking Green Opportunities in the Chinese Mainland
Under the theme “Restore the Land. Unlock the Opportunities,” the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2023 highlights how revitalizing our lands can create jobs, enhance food and water security, support climate action, and strengthen economic resilience.
Over the past decade, the Chinese mainland has intensified efforts to combat desertification, transforming vast stretches of barren land into thriving ecosystems. More than 24 million hectares of sandified land have been treated, and nearly 1.9 million hectares have been designated as protected areas. By 2019, the country’s desertification index fell to 2.24, and its sandification index dropped to 2.85—marked improvements that signal a positive environmental shift.
A flagship initiative driving this change is the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TSFP). Operating for over 40 years, the TSFP has rehabilitated more than 85 million hectares of degraded grassland and controlled soil erosion on nearly 45 million hectares. Within the project zone, forest cover has risen from 5.05 percent in 1977 to 13.84 percent today. Eroded land stabilization has reached 61 percent, effectively protecting 30 million hectares of farmland.
In regions like Minqin County in northwest China’s Gansu Province, innovative approaches that combine water conservation, soil management, climate adaptation, and biological measures have spurred a green transformation in the desert. Despite receiving only 120.8 mm of annual rainfall, Minqin has achieved planting survival rates of up to 95 percent, turning once-shifting sands into stable oases.
The Taklimakan Desert, the largest in China, now boasts a fully linked ecological barrier, marking a significant milestone in regional desertification control and safeguarding vital ecological security.
Advancements in science and technology continue to empower these efforts. By 2023, the Chinese mainland had established numerous desert ecosystem observatories and dust-storm monitoring stations, replicating successful models from areas like Shapotou in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Saihanba in Hebei Province.
Since the 1980s, innovative techniques like the grass-grid method pioneered at Shapotou have gained international recognition. More recently, researchers developed a method of spraying cultured blue-green algae into grass-grid barriers, forming a preliminary soil crust in just two to three years—a powerful new tool for bio-engineering sand control.
Land restoration has also led to the return of rare wildlife. At Qinghai Lake in northwest China, species such as Chinese mountain cats and white-lipped deer have reappeared. Sightings of black-necked cranes, black storks, and whooper swans have increased significantly. By 2023, the black-necked crane population in Qinghai Province had reached over 2,600, doubling over the past decade. The Sanjiangyuan snow leopard monitoring project, launched in late 2022, has collected hundreds of thousands of images and videos, documenting these elusive creatures in unprecedented detail.
The Chinese mainland was the first to achieve zero net land degradation and has received the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Secretariat’s “Outstanding Contribution to Desertification Control” award three times.
Beyond its borders, the Chinese mainland has shared its experience globally. Through partnerships like the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation and the China–Arab States Cooperation Forum, it supports initiatives such as the Great Green Wall in Africa and the Middle East Green Initiative. In 2023, it established the China-Arab International Research Center on Drought, Desertification and Land Degradation and inaugurated the China-Mongolia Cooperation Center for Combating Desertification to support Mongolia’s “One Billion Trees” campaign.
The experience of the Chinese mainland demonstrates that by blending traditional engineering with cutting-edge science and community engagement, degraded lands can be revitalized. In doing so, they unlock a wealth of green opportunities for both people and nature.
