Monday marks World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, a day dedicated by the United Nations to raise awareness of the impacts of desertification and drought.

This year's theme "United for Land. Our Legacy. Our Future," underscores the critical importance of collective action to preserve our planet's vital land resources for future generations.

In recent years, China and Mongolia have been exploring ways to combat desertification together, a global issue with serious implications worldwide for biodiversity, eco-safety, poverty reduction and sustainable development.

In September 2023, the China-Mongolia Desertification Prevention and Control Cooperation Center was inaugurated in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar. 

China has vowed to take the center as a platform to support Mongolia's target of planting a billion trees over the 2021-2030 period.

The country has also been sharing technologies in sand control through joint seminars and demonstration activities.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences has been running a 27-hectare project since 2017 in Mongolia's Bulgan Province, demonstrating how to stabilize mobile and semi-mobile sand dunes and increase vegetation.

China is also expected to build monitoring stations in Mongolia's desert areas to provide sandstorm early warning services.

The two sides have pledged to continue working together to reduce sandstorms in the region and promote the ecological security on the Mongolian Plateau.

(Cover image via CFP)