China's Green Great Wall reduces desertification but faces ongoing challenges

China’s Three‑North Protective Forest Program, popularly called the “Green Great Wall,” was launched in 1978 to halt desertification across the northern half of the country. Using a simple “straw checkerboard” method—forearm‑length sticks inserted in intersecting rows and saplings planted at the centre—millions of workers have created a lattice that stabilises shifting dunes.

State data show the area of desertified land peaked in 2000 and has since been shrinking by more than 1,000 km² each year, a decline of about 10 % overall and a drop of over 40 % in the most severely affected zones. Forest cover in the program area has risen from roughly 5 % in 1978 to 14 % in 2022, now covering about 500,000 km². Over 300 million rural laborers have taken part, with families and volunteers joining ongoing maintenance.

Scientists, including UN Convention on Desertification chief Barron Joseph Orr and Chinese academy researcher Zhu Jiaojun, stress that the gains require decades of continued effort and favourable climate conditions. Recent media visits highlighted veteran sand‑control worker Yin Yuzhen, who described the transformation from barren dunes to visible greenery. The programme is cited as a major long‑term development strategy, while similar tree‑planting projects are underway in parts of Africa.