In Kubuqi Desert, workers have used straw checkerboard planting for decades to stabilize sand and promote vegetation as part of China’s Three-North Protective Forest Program, a nationwide effort launched in 1978 to combat desertification.

Desertification, driven by drought, overgrazing and unsustainable farming, peaked in 2000; state media reports that the area of desertified land in northern China has declined by more than 1,000 square kilometers annually since then, and forest cover in the program zone rose from about 5% in 1978 to 14% in 2022, while total desertified land shrank by roughly 10% since 2000.

The grid pattern, created by inserting forearm‑length straw sticks in intersecting rows, facilitates irrigation and seedling establishment; the program has engaged an estimated 300 million rural laborers, many on a part‑time, paid basis, and has covered nearly half of China’s territory.

Barron Joseph Orr, chief scientist for the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, said reversing desertification is possible when integrated into long‑term development strategies. Zhu Jiaojun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences noted that increased recent rainfall has eased restoration efforts, but he emphasized that the achievement reflects both labor input and climate factors.

Scientists caution that sustaining the gains will require continued investment and careful management of water and soil conditions; Orr and Zhu highlighted that ecosystem recovery can become self‑sustaining only with ongoing monitoring and community economic incentives.

Yin Yuzhen, a 60‑year‑old sand‑control worker, expressed hope that younger generations will continue the work, while officials and researchers stress that the fight against desertification remains a long‑term endeavor.