An aerial view of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest in Linze county, Zhangye, in Northwest China's Gansu Province, on October 20, 2025. Photo: IC

China has made new progress in the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with over 200 million mu (13.33 million hectares) of forestry and grassland seedling work completed as part of the program's key campaign , China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday, citing the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. 

China's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program is the world's largest afforestation program, launched in 1978 to tackle desertification in northwestern, northern and northeastern regions, according to Xinhua. 

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the program has completed a total of 349 million mu. Since the full launch of the key campaign on June 6, 2023, a total of 415 projects have been implemented, with more than 200 million mu completed, CCTV reported. 

The period from 2021 to 2030 marks the phase of the sixth stage of the Three-North program, with localities actively exploring various management models, including road-based desert control, integration of photovoltaics and desert control, and industrial desert control. 

Focusing on natural geographic units such as deserts, sandy lands, watersheds, and mountain ranges, and targeting key factors, China has planned and established 10 cross-regional joint prevention and control zones to efficiently carry out management tasks. As of now, more than half of the construction tasks under the program's sixth phase plan have been completed, according to CCTV. 

This year marks the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period and a crucial stage for the full-scale advancement of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program. China will focus on three key tasks: scientific protection, systematic management, and rational utilization, according to CCTV.

By the end of 2027, China aims to complete more than 70 percent of the sixth phase plan and basically fulfill the main tasks of the key campaign, according to CCTV.

Global Times