“First, I recommend establishing smooth intergovernmental cooperation mechanisms to open channels for collaboration in desertification control…” said Lei Jiaqiang, a researcher at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, on August 29 at the International Symposium on Desertification Control Exchange and Cooperation, a side event of the 7th China-Arab States Expo Technology Transfer and Innovation Cooperation Conference. He joined over 100 government representatives, experts, scholars, and business leaders from China, Arab countries, and the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for in-depth discussions under the theme “Halting Land Degradation, Jointly Addressing Challenges in Arid Regions.”

  During the experience-sharing session, Lei Jiaqiang presented on Successful Cases in the Construction of Africa’s Great Green Wall, highlighting the application of Chinese technology in vegetation restoration in African desert areas. He also suggested prioritizing desertification control in foreign aid by increasing financial and project support, and called for the establishment of an accessible information platform—such as an AI big data model library—while enhancing the development of locally suitable models to ensure integrated advancement of “government, industry, academia, research, and economics.”  

  Liu Bing, Director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration’s Three-North Shelterbelt Program Bureau, delivered a results-sharing presentation titled Sharing Governance Experience, and Creating Beautiful Environment, systematically reviewing the achievements of the Three-North Shelterbelt Program over the past 47 years. He also shared China’s new technologies, innovations, and models in scientific desert control, offering “Chinese wisdom” and “Chinese solutions” to Arab states.  

  Wu Bo, a researcher at the Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration of the Chinese Academy of Forestry, released a report titled Pathways and Technologies for Desertification Control in China, emphasizing advanced and applicable technologies in desertification management. This drew detailed inquiries from Arab representatives regarding technical specifics. Two trainees from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia shared their experiences from training programs in China and discussed the preliminary results of implementing "Chinese solutions" in their local contexts.  

  During the results promotion session, the symposium highlighted three major technological achievements: “sand fixation tools, restoration models, and industrial exemplars.” Detailed introductions were given on the development of mechanized brush-style straw checkerboard sand barriers, the principles and practices of degraded grassland ecological restoration, and the current status and future vision of the Turpan Desert Botanical Garden.  

  The symposium was jointly organized by the China-Arab States Technology Transfer Center, the Ningxia Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Secretariat of the UNCCD, and the China-Arab International Research Center for Arid Desertification and Land Degradation. The event injected new momentum into promoting green development under the Belt and Road Initiative and building a China-Arab community with a shared future.  

  “China and Arab countries have highly complementary experiences in arid land management, and their cooperation will provide a exemplary model for the global goal of zero growth in land degradation,” noted Guo Yufu, an official from the Science, Technology, and Innovation Project Department of the UNCCD Secretariat.  

  (Photo by Science and Technology Daily Reporter Xie Manbin)  

  Edited by Leng Mei