China adds 2.67 million hectares of trees, grass in key afforestation program

BEIJING -- China has achieved 40 million mu (2.67 million hectares) of afforestation and grass planting over the past 12 months under its major greening program, official data showed Thursday.

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration said at a conference that the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TSFP) has seen a total of 56 projects starting construction since June 2023, including the projects of two sandy lands of Hunshandake and Maowusu.

China is among those countries with the most severe desertification, with its desertified areas mainly located in northwest, north and northeast China -- dubbed the "three-north."

The TSFP, the world's largest afforestation program launched in 1978 and scheduled to be completed by 2050, aims to rehabilitate and green desert-prone lands and desertified areas in the "three-north."

In June 2023, China proposed to turn the TSFP into a fully functional and unbreakable "green Great Wall" and ecological security barrier in northern China.

The administration said it has stepped up policy support for the program in the past 12 months, with measures to arrange the issuance of special treasury bonds, provide special subsidies, guarantee its water use and improve financial services. More energy has also been channeled into technological innovation tackling the bottleneck of combating desertification.

Looking forward, more solid efforts will be taken to ensure the stable supply of saplings and grass seeds, promote photovoltaic sand control and other new models, and strengthen innovation on related technologies, according to the administration.