China is one of the countries with large desert areas. In the last century, it was plagned by sand storms, dust storms from the desert. The country had launched multiple de-desertification projects. One of the projects is called the Three North Shelterbelt Program.
The goal of the Three North Shelterbelt Program is to stop the expansion of the deserts in the three northern regions of China (North, Northeast, and Northwest) and reduce dust storms. The project started in 1978 and is expected to be completed in 2050. It covers thirteen provinces in the north totalling 4 million square km. The project utilizes many methods to fight the desert:
- Plant shelterbelt on the edge of the desert to stop the encroachment and expansion.
- Use Grass grid sand fixation to cover the edge of the desert. In a year, the area will be transformed into vegetation coverage.
- Cover the desert area with PV panels. The panels generate electricity while the shades underneath provide a favorable environment for the plant growth. It generates more revenues to the local community.
Finally, the de-desertification projects make significant results:
– Taklamakan Desert was completely encircled by a shelterbelt in 2024. The micro climate around the shelterbelt was also improved. They formed a much more favorable ecosystem for vegetation compared to the desert.
– Kubuqi Desert was successfully transformed into a forest with vegetation coverage over 53%. It has a 95% decrease in sandstorms days, 10-folds increase in wildlife, and an increase in annual rainfall.
– Maowusu Desert was totally transformed into forest with vegetation coverage over 93% in 2020.
– The Three-North Shelterbelt Program had reversed the desertification of Gobi Desert. The desert had shrunk 2000 square kilometer per year in 2022.
