BEIJING: China will share with the world its experience in sand control over the past 50 years during the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which opened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday. Guan Zhi’ou, head of the Chinese delegation to COP16 and director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, said that China’s remarkable achievements in controlling desertification have garnered global attention.
“China has achieved a ‘double reduction’ in desertification and sandy land, becoming the first country in the world to achieve the goal of zero net growth in land degradation,” he said.
An exhibition showcasing the history and achievements of the Three-North Shelterbelt Program — one of the most important projects in China’s sand control history — opened on Monday at the China Pavilion at the COP16 venue.
The pavilion, covering 608 square meters, will host a series of activities until Dec 13, the last day of the conference. China joined the UN convention on desertification in 1994 as one of its first signatories. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
