China highlights land restoration efforts at COP17 'China Corner'

(ECNS) -- The "China Corner" themed exhibition opened in the Blue Zone of the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia, on Monday, highlighting the country’s achievements in combating desertification and restoring degraded land.

Held under the overall theme of COP17, "Restoring Land, Restoring Hope," the exhibition showcases China’s practices in desertification control through five sections.

During COP17, the Chinese delegation will participate in high-level dialogues on financing, drought resilience and grassland protection and propose the establishment of an International Day of Grasslands to further promote global cooperation on grassland conservation.

The “China Corner” highlights the achievements of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, widely recognized as the world's largest afforestation program.

It also showcases China’s cooperation with Arab countries, Mongolia and Central Asian countries in combating desertification.

China will host nearly 20 side events during the conference to share its experience and technologies in desertification control, ecological restoration and sustainable development.

China’s desertified land accounts for about one-quarter of its total land area. After more than five decades of efforts, the country has achieved zero net growth in land degradation and effectively restored 53% of treatable desertified land.

Over the past five years, China has completed ecological restoration projects covering 36.6 million hectares. Its forest coverage rate has exceeded 25%, contributing about one-quarter of the world’s newly added green areas, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.