China's anti-desertification efforts make significant progress, official says

China's forestation and anti-desertification campaign has made significant progress since 2023, according to Guan Zhi'ou, minister of Natural Resources. 

Guan made the remarks during an interview after the closing meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) when asked to comment on the country's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program.

"Over the past one year or so, with the leadership of the State Council and the collaboration of multiple regions, departments, and enterprises – both public and private, we have controlled over 76 million mu (about 5 million hectares) of land from desertification, a substantial progress of the program," Guan told reporters.

According to Guan, new desertification control measures, including photovoltaic power plant projects and road construction, have brought social and economic benefits to local people.

For example, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region paid 1.5 billion yuan ($207 million) to local people for their forestation efforts, providing over 200,000 people with a paycheck.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program is known as the world's largest afforestation program to tackle desertification in northwest, north and northeast China.

Guan also reiterated China's commitment of maintaining the country's area of farmland above the redline of 1.8 billion mu (about 120 million hectares) in order to safeguard food security.