China to share desertification strategies at UNCCD COP16

China will send a delegation to the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, highlighting its successful land restoration efforts, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

"We have put 53 percent of the treatable sandy land under effective treatment," Mao said during a regular press conference on Friday.

The Chinese government has been contributing to the prevention and control of desertification, by launching ecological conservation projects, such as the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TSFP).

Launched in 1978 and continuing until 2050, the TSFP has expanded afforestation areas by 32 million hectares. By 2050, the project is expected to cover over 4 million square kilometers across 13 provinces, representing 42.4 percent of China's total land area.

China is one of the countries most affected by desertification, said Mao.

The country owns the world's second-largest drifting desert, Taklimakan, with an area of 337,600 square kilometers and a circumference of 3,046 kilometers. Known as the "Sea of Death," it has been completely encircled by a sand-blocking green belt stretching 3,046 kilometers, according to local authorities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of China signing the UNCCD. The next COP16 will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2 to 13, featuring the theme "Our Land."

(Cover: Workers carried out tree planting operations under the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, in Dingxi City, northwest China's Gansu Province, October 22, 2024. /CFP)