China’s ‘Great Green Wall’ Programme 

Why in News?

China has showcased the achievements of its Three-North Shelterbelt Programme, commonly known as the Great Green Wall, highlighting notable progress in reducing desertification and expanding forest cover over the last four decades.

Key Highlights

• The programme has helped curb desertification across northern China through extensive afforestation, sand fixation measures and long-term ecological restoration initiatives.
• Although the project has delivered measurable environmental benefits, experts emphasise that sustained management is essential, as desertification is influenced by both climatic conditions and human activities.
• It is among the world’s largest afforestation initiatives, implemented through coordinated government investment, scientific planning and active public participation.
• Experts stress that large-scale tree planting should be complemented by sustainable land-use practices, efficient water management and climate adaptation measures to ensure lasting ecological gains.
• The programme is widely recognised as a global example of landscape-level ecological restoration aimed at improving resilience and reversing land degradation.

Key Concepts

Desertification

• Desertification refers to land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions caused by climatic variability and unsustainable human activities, resulting in declining land productivity.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

• The UNCCD is an international agreement focused on preventing desertification, restoring degraded land and promoting sustainable land management across affected regions.

Shelterbelt

• A shelterbelt is a row or belt of trees planted to reduce wind erosion, stabilise soil and protect agricultural land from the spread of deserts.

Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)

• LDN is a global objective under the UNCCD that seeks to offset ongoing land degradation through restoration efforts so that the overall quality and productivity of land resources remain stable or improve.

Ecosystem Restoration

• Ecosystem restoration involves assisting the recovery of degraded ecosystems to restore biodiversity, ecological functions and the services they provide.

Way Forward

• Encourage sustainable land management practices along with efficient water conservation.
• Strengthen the involvement of local communities in ecological restoration initiatives.
• Promote climate-resilient afforestation using scientifically suitable species and techniques.
• Expand international cooperation and knowledge sharing under the UNCCD framework.
• Integrate land restoration efforts with biodiversity conservation and sustainable rural livelihoods.