China has highlighted its decades-long efforts to combat desertification, showcasing large-scale ecological restoration work in the Tengger Desert region and its expanding international cooperation in land rehabilitation and climate resilience.<\/p>\n
Along the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, workers are using straw rope grids to stabilise shifting sand dunes. Forestry engineer Tang Ximing said the newly developed grass grid barrier is more efficient than traditional methods, requires less labour, and can last up to six years.<\/p>\n
Ningxia, located in northwestern China, has long battled desert expansion. In the 1950s, it pioneered the straw checkerboard technique to protect the Baotou\u2013Lanzhou Railway, later becoming the first provincial region in China to reverse desertification trends.<\/p>\n
At the national level, China\u2019s anti-desertification strategy is anchored in the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, launched in 1978 and now recognised as the world\u2019s largest afforestation initiative.<\/p>\n
Officials said China has brought 53 percent of treatable degraded land under effective management and has contributed about a quarter of global new green coverage in recent years.<\/p>\n
The fight against desertification has also been linked with economic development. In Inner Mongolia, woody waste from windbreak trees is being converted into biomass pellets used as a cleaner energy source, creating jobs for rural communities. Similar initiatives in Ningxia and Gansu have promoted desert tourism, solar energy, and desert agriculture.<\/p>\n
China is also expanding international cooperation. As an early signatory to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, it has been sharing technology and expertise with countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Agricultural and climate-related projects are underway in Central Asia, where Chinese-developed quinoa varieties are being tested on saline-alkali land in Kazakhstan. According to Wu Xiarui, such projects have improved soil fertility while reducing water and fertiliser use significantly.<\/p>\n
China is also conducting international training programmes, with experts from developing countries receiving technical instruction in Ningxia. Officials said nearly 100 specialists are trained annually.
\nIn broader global cooperation, Chinese experts have contributed to Mongolia\u2019s \u201cOne Billion Trees\u201d initiative and supported desert restoration projects in Saudi Arabia and the Sahel region.<\/p>\n
Feng Zhanwen of the China\u2013Central Asia desertification control cooperation centre said China\u2019s experience in ecological restoration is being shared internationally through joint projects and training programmes.<\/p>\n
He added that upcoming initiatives include new demonstration projects in Central Asia and technical training sessions aimed at scaling up desertification control efforts globally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China has highlighted its decades-long efforts to combat desertification, showcasing large-scale ecological restoration work in the Tengger Desert region and its expanding international cooperation in land rehabilitation and climate resilience. Along the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, workers are using straw rope grids to stabilise shifting sand dunes. Forestry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":73931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,17],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[213],"class_list":{"0":"post-73930","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest","8":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n