According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, more than 250 million people are directly affected by desertification. In addition, some one billion people in more than 100 countries are at risk. They include many of the world's poorest, most marginalized and politically weak.

Land degradation and desertification are a problem of global dimensions, and the situation is particularly acute in dry regions. It affects two billion people and up to 70 percent of arid and semi-arid areas worldwide.

Ten years ago it was estimated that more than 135 million people risked displacement because of severe desertification. But even in less-affected areas, people are becoming displaced as crop yields decline and precious biodiversity resources for food and agriculture are threatened. Indeed, responding to dryland degradation is a humanitarian issue.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been active for decades in the fight against desertification.

FAO devotes significant portions of its agriculture, forestry, fisheries, economic and social, as well as sustainable development programs to addressing issues related to land degradation and desertification.

Sustainable management of natural resources and increased productivity are key to achieving sustainable development and poverty reduction and to attaining environmental sustainability. Considering these issues separately results in poorly coordinated policymaking and reduces progress in achieving these goals. Addressing them together builds synergy and adds value.

China's economy has been experiencing double-digit growth in the past two decades and the Chinese people's life has been tremendously improved. However, along with the unprecedented economic growth, China is challenged by severe environmental pollution and ecological damage.

As the country marches to new economic heights, the demand for energy and resources has provoked widespread concern around the world. Due to over-exploitation of natural resources and heavy land pressure, China has encountered serious land degradation problems and now has a degraded area of more than 2 million square kilometers. This accounts for about 27 percent of its total territory, mainly in western dryland regions, the poorest area of China.

Fortunately, the Chinese government has realized the dire consequences that eco-environmental damage could have on air, water, climate and health as well as agriculture and biodiversity. This damage will eventually take a heavy toll on economy and social stability.

Therefore, China is taking measures to balance its ambitious goals for economic growth with ecological protection strategies for sustainable development.

China has updated its domestic laws in line with the market economy and has ratified a number of international environment-related conventions, such as the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the Kyoto Protocol.

China has taken a number of actions with major financial investment to improve the environment and to reduce land degradation. China's forest plantation program is so successful that this is the main reason that the global rate of deforestation slowed in the first five years of this century.

China successfully imple-mented a number of national programs to support western regions' development to reclaim barren and arid land. The ecological recovery program helps return farmland to forest or grassland.

Subsidies were provided to farmers for forest activities to combat desertification and a bold logging ban has been imposed. China has increased its forest area from 12 percent of the total landmass to 18 percent in 30 years, a phenomenal achievement unmatched by any other country.

FAO has been an important partner for China in forest and environmental sectors and has supported forestation programs in the last decade. FAO is currently working with Chinese partners through the National Forest Program Facility and other projects to improve forestry management, information systems, forest resource management and forest land tenure reform.

FAO is conducting the global project Land Degradation Assessment of Drylands with total investment of US$15 million, with China as one of the six pilot countries. The project aims to build local, national and global capacities to assess and monitor land degradation. It will promote the design and planning of interventions to mitigate the impact of land degradation.

China has both the environmental challenges and the successful experiences. FAO's Chinese forest counter-part has indicated willingness to share its experiences on fighting desertification and land degradation with other developing countries through the modality of South-South cooperation led by FAO.

The author is FAO Representative in China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Mongolia

(China Daily 06/19/2007 page11)