Gobi Desert Desertification Threatens Farmland and Food Security
Recent Developments
01A source in the search results says the Gobi Desert was shrinking by more than 2,000 km² per year in 2022, suggesting progress in some affected areas rather than continued uniform expansion.
02Recent program guidance describes the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program as having halted desert expansion through large-scale ecological engineering and afforestation across northern China.
03The search results do not include a verified 2025-2026 source confirming the claim of 3,600 km² of farmland loss annually.
Interventions
- China’s Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, launched in 1978 and continuing through 2050, is the main large-scale intervention aimed at slowing desertification and dust storms in northern China.
- Cross-border monitoring and coordination on desertification and dust storms between China, Mongolia, and related regional actors is referenced in the search results as an ongoing approach.
What Works
- Large-scale shelterbelt forestry and ecological engineering have been reported to reduce desert expansion and dust-storm frequency in northern China.
- Restoring vegetation in source areas and reducing wind erosion are identified as effective measures for stabilizing land and protecting agricultural production.
How to Help
- Support organizations working on desertification control, land restoration, and sustainable agriculture in China and Mongolia.
- Back conservation, reforestation, and rangeland-management initiatives that reduce overgrazing and soil erosion.
- Advocate for stronger climate adaptation, land-restoration funding, and cross-border dust-storm cooperation.
Make an Impact
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Verified Organizations
Organizations Helping(7)
The ministry leads implementation of desertification-response programs in Mongolia, including the ENSURE project. Its role includes working with UNDP and local governments to restore degraded landscapes, designate protected areas, support sustainable grazing plans, and improve ecosystem resilience in the southern Gobi.
WRI addresses land degradation by producing analysis and tools for restoration, sustainable land use, and landscape governance. In contexts like the Gobi, this type of work supports decision-making on where to restore land, how to manage grazing pressure, and how to prioritize interventions that protect farmland, grasslands, and water resources.
UCR conducts multi-decade experimental research demonstrating that strategic shrub and vegetation planting can effectively tame desert expansion and reduce carbon emissions. Their work provides scientific validation that land degradation can be reversed through targeted greening initiatives, offering evidence-based approaches to inform policy and restoration strategies in the Taklamakan and surrounding regions.
UNDP works through the ENSURE project with Mongolia’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, local governments, and herder communities to restore degraded ecosystems, improve pasture management, and strengthen resilience to desertification. The project supports 5-year rangeland management plans, helps herder groups reduce livestock numbers to match carrying capacity, sets aside fodder reserves for drought periods, expands protected areas and ecological corridors, and restores saxaul forests in the southern Gobi.
