China’s ’Great Green Wall’ tames desert growth, but fight not over, Pg2

Key Highlights:

• China launched the Three-North Protective Forest Program in 1978 to combat desertification across its northern regions.
• The program, also known as the "Green Great Wall," has reduced desertified land by over 1,000 sq. km annually since 2000.
• Forest cover in the program area increased from approximately 5% in 1978 to 14% in 2022, covering a cumulative 500,000 sq. km.
• A primary technique employed is "straw checkerboards" to stabilize sand dunes and facilitate plant growth through irrigation.
• The U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification has recognized China's long-term political commitment to this initiative.

Detailed Insights:

• The Three-North Protective Forest Program addresses land degradation primarily caused by drought, overgrazing, and extensive farming practices.
• Over 300 million rural laborers have been involved in the program, contributing significantly to its large-scale implementation.
• The success is attributed to sustained political commitment, substantial state investment, and increased rainfall in recent years in some areas.
• Areas of severely or extremely desertified land have decreased by more than 40% since 2000.
• The Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has played a crucial role in the program's construction and management.
• The initiative has transformed regions from "desertification advancing and people retreating" to "greenery advancing and the desertification retreating."

Key Concepts Involved:

• Desertification: Land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.
• Three-North Protective Forest Program: A large-scale ecological engineering project in China aimed at combating desertification and soil erosion.
• Straw checkerboards: A sand-fixing technique involving inserting straw into sand to form grids, stabilizing dunes and promoting vegetation growth.
• U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): An international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.