Sand dunes in northwest China's Gansu Province. /VCG Photo
Desertification is one of the critical yet chronic environmental issues facing the planet.
June 17 marks the annual "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" (WDCD), and China's slogan for this year is "Control the land desertification, promote the sustainable development."
Mu Us Desert covered by grass grids in northwest China. /VCG Photo
According to Liu Dongsheng, deputy director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, areas hit by desertification in China have gone from an annual expansion of 10,400 square kilometers by the end of the last century, to an annual reduction of 2,424 square kilometers.
Meanwhile, land sandification has been shrinking some 1,980 square kilometers on a yearly basis following an expansion of 3,436 square kilometers 20 years ago. This means that China has achieved the UNCCD's 2030 Zero Net Land Degradation Target ahead of schedule.
Mu Us Desert covered by grass grids, northwest China. /VCG Photo
Effective measures have been implemented in China such as Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program and Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control Program. The country has also built nearly 120 national desert parks in the past 20 years.
Earlier this year, NASA revealed data showing that human activities in China and India have contributed the most to global greenery expansion.
A desert park built in the Mu Us Desert in northwest China. /VCG Photo
China's desertification area is 2,611,600 square kilometers, while its sandification area is 1,721,200 square kilometers, covering respectively one-fourth and one-fifth of the country's total land area.
But desertification control is not an overnight achievement. It requires the whole world's participation, and efforts are to be made continuously over the decades to follow.
(Cover image: Aerial seeding in northwest China's Mu Us Desert. /VCG Photo.)
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