China has continuously stepped up its efforts in desertification prevention and control during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), achieving remarkable results, said the National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Wednesday.
The latest data shows that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China has continued to strengthen comprehensive desertification prevention and control, completing the treatment of 10.13 million hectares of desertified land and 1.95 million hectares of rocky desertified land.
The country's level of desertification has continued to decline, with the ecological conditions in sand-prone areas continuing to improve.
China is among the countries with the most severe desertification globally. Its desertified areas are mainly located in northwest, north and northeast, which together are dubbed the "three-north."
So far, the sixth phase of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program from 2021 to 2030 has arranged 30.87 million hectares of construction tasks, with 23.67 million hectares completed, basically achieving the phased goal of completing half of the tasks halfway through the implementation period.
Currently, the "three-north" region is strengthening technological empowerment, dividing the area into 136 ecological management zones and breeding a number of new drought-resistant, cold-resistant and saline-alkali-tolerant forest and grass varieties.
The utilization rate of improved varieties in the project area exceeds 75 percent.
Launched in 1978, the project consists of forestation in northwest, north and northeast China, in order to hold back the aftermath of sandstorms and soil erosion. The eight-phase project, covering 13 provincial regions, is expected to be completed by 2050.
As of now, China's desertifield land has seen a net decrease, shifting from an average annual expansion of about 343,000 hectares at the end of the last century to an average annual reduction of about 667,000 hectares currently.
The total soil wind erosion in the eight major deserts and four major sandy lands has dropped by about 40 percent compared with 2000. The average vegetation coverage in desert-prone areas has reached 21.17 percent, up 2.84 percentage points from 10 years ago.
China's experience in desertification control has also been welcomed globally.
"China has achieved brilliant and remarkable results in combating desertification. We have witnessed with our own eyes that vast deserts have been transformed into land where trees and greenery can be planted and used for economically viable agricultural projects," said Erkin Mukhitdinov, director of the Agency for Increasing Forests and Green Areas and Combating Desertification of Uzbekistan.
Data indicates tangible results in China's desertification efforts during 14th Five-Year Plan
