Yasmin Fuad, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, recently stated in a written interview with Xinhua News Agency that in recent years, China's desertification and desertified land area have continued to "double reduce", and "China has become one of the clearest large-scale examples of land degradation being reversed".
Fuad believes that China's experience strongly proves that with long-term vision, technological innovation, and strong institutional support, ecological restoration and economic development can mutually promote each other.
Fuad pointed out that the success of ecological restoration in China cannot be separated from three key factors. Firstly, there is policy continuity. Taking the "Three North" project as an example, this project, which started in 1978 and is planned until 2050, is one of the largest and longest lasting ecological restoration projects in the world. Secondly, a comprehensive legal system has played an important role, including specialized laws for preventing and controlling desertification and broader ecological governance reforms. At the same time, scientific and monitoring methods such as satellite observation and land use planning have always been integrated, providing solid support for decision-making.
She emphasized that the core inspiration of China's experience is that ecological restoration cannot be carried out independently and must be integrated into national planning and long-term development strategies, taking into account food security, water security, poverty reduction, and climate resilience. In addition, ecological restoration is combined with local livelihoods to achieve dual benefits of desertification control and wealth creation through the development of sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry.
These experiences have significant implications for arid regions in Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East, "said Fouad, pointing out that these regions face similar challenges such as drought, land degradation, and water scarcity. China has accumulated rich practices in soil and water conservation, vegetation restoration, desertification control projects, and remote sensing monitoring, which have important reference significance.
Fuad admitted that ecological restoration still faces severe challenges globally. The current global annual investment for achieving the goals of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is only about 77 billion US dollars, with a funding gap of up to 278 billion US dollars. In addition to financial pressure, the ongoing drought has further increased the difficulty of ecological restoration. In addition, grassland pastures are ecosystems that support the livelihoods of approximately 2 billion people worldwide and provide nearly 70% of livestock feed, of which nearly half have degraded or are at risk of degradation.
Speaking of the upcoming 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Mongolia, Fuad believes that the urgent task is to translate the established goals, including countries' commitments to restore 1 billion hectares of degraded land, into corresponding implementation efforts and action scales.
Ecological restoration is one of the most practical investments for economic resilience, food security, and long-term stability, "said Fouad. He hopes that the conference can regain people's confidence in the future: land degradation is not irreversible, and multilateral cooperation can help translate a common vision into concrete actions. (Outlook New Era)
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