Key facts
- China's Green Great Wall project, initiated in 1978, aims to combat desertification across northern regions.
- The program has reduced desertified land by over 400 square miles annually since 2000.
- Forest cover in the project area has risen from 5% in 1978 to 14% in 2022.
- Scientists attribute progress to sustained effort, state investment, and favorable climate conditions.
- The initiative is part of China's broader climate mitigation strategy and supports forestry jobs.
For half a century, China has been engaged in a massive effort to combat desertification, primarily through its Three-North Protective Forest Program, also known as the Green Great Wall. This initiative involves millions of workers planting trees and vegetation across vast desert regions in northern China using techniques like 'straw checkerboards' to stabilize sand dunes and prevent wind erosion.
The program, launched in 1978, has shown measurable success, with the area of desertified land peaking in 2000 and subsequently decreasing by over 400 square miles annually. Forest cover in the affected regions has significantly increased, rising from around 5% in 1978 to 14% in 2022. Scientists attribute this progress not only to sustained, top-level planning and substantial state investment but also to favorable climate conditions, including increased rainfall in recent years.
Experts like Barron Joseph Orr, chief scientist for the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, highlight the long-term political commitment as crucial for reversing desertification. Zhu Jiaojun, a scientist involved in the program, noted that both human effort and climate luck have played roles in the achievements. The Chinese government reports that overall desertified land has shrunk by about 10% since 2000, with severely or extremely desertified areas decreasing by over 40%. The initiative is part of Beijing's broader climate mitigation strategy and supports jobs in forestry.
Personal accounts from sand-control workers, like 60-year-old Yin Yuzhen, underscore the dedication and challenging conditions involved in the decades-long effort. China has also seen a net increase in mangrove areas and has greened over 90 million acres of land in the past five years, including adding over a million acres of new forests. The government aims to complete the Green Great Wall project by 2050, emphasizing the ongoing need for afforestation and land restoration.