Imagine building a ‘Great Wall’—but instead of stone, it’s made of trees 🌲. That’s China’s Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TSFP), launched in 1978 to tackle desertification in its driest regions. Spanning the north, northeast, and northwest—areas covering 45% of the country’s land—the TSFP is on track to become the world’s largest ecological restoration project by its 2050 completion date.
Why does this matter? Over 84% of China’s desertified land lies in these regions, threatening ecosystems and livelihoods. But after 46 years, the numbers speak for themselves:
320,000 km² of new forests planted 🌱
Forest coverage up from 5.05% to 13.84%
850,000 km² of grassland restored
Dubbed the ‘Green Great Wall’, the TSFP has reduced degraded grassland by 15%—proving that battling desertification isn’t just possible, it’s already happening. 💪
‘This isn’t just about planting trees,’ says a Ministry of Forestry and Grassland official. ‘It’s about rewriting the future of our land.’ And with Phase 6 underway, China’s green revolution is still growing—one sapling at a time.
