Kathmandu— As desertification threatens ecosystems and livelihoods worldwide, China’s experience in combating advancing sands is offering new solutions. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, surrounded by deserts on three sides, has transformed from a sand-threatened area into an ecological restoration model through decades of effort. Techniques like the straw checkerboard method are now being shared internationally to help other regions tackle similar challenges.

China-Central Asia Cooperation Center

Established in 2025, the China-Central Asia desertification prevention and control cooperation center in Ningxia serves as a platform for technical exchanges, joint research, and pilot projects. The center helps connect China’s expertise with the ecological conditions and development needs of partner nations. During an anti-desertification workshop held last month in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Huang Wei, deputy director of the cooperation center, tailored the curriculum to address the country's mountainous terrain and severe soil erosion.

Customized Solutions for Partner Countries

Chinese experts emphasize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to desertification control. Huang Wei stated, “Whether an approach works depends on local conditions.” The center’s pilot projects include an urban green-space demonstration zone in Uzbekistan and a seedling propagation base in Kyrgyzstan. Cooperation also extends beyond technologies themselves; the center organizes exchange and training programs that bring together technical experts, scholars, and policymakers from partner countries.

International Training Programs

Over the years, China has shared its desertification-control technologies and expertise with partners across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. In late July, a three-week training program opened in Yinchuan, bringing together 34 ecological experts and officials from Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia, and other Arab countries. Saifeddine Eturki, a researcher at Tunisia’s Arid Regions Institute, said, “We are here to explore how China’s experience can be adapted to our own conditions.”

Global Impact of Chinese Techniques

China's desert-control experience has provided insights that benefit ecological restoration efforts globally. In Saudi Arabia, integrating photovoltaic development with desert restoration offers new ideas for balancing renewable energy and land rehabilitation. Lessons from China’s Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program have also been shared to support the Great Green Wall Initiative in Africa.

Feng Zhanwen, director of the cooperation center, emphasized that sharing experience and solutions is essential as countries work together to address desertification.

(With inputs from Xinhua)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.