CCTV9英语新闻：China aims to improve half of desert land by 2020（在线收听）

China has made significant progress in controlling land degredation, but the latest official figures show that it still has many challenges to deal with.

The State Forestry Administration says desertification has affected around 2-point-6 million square kilometres of land, which is more than a quarter of the country. 80% of the desert land is situated along the silk road economic belt. The most affected areas with fragile ecological systems are in the northwest, like Xinjiang and inner-Mongolia, and north and northeast China, home to more than 30% of the country's population.

The Administration rolled out new guidelines this month to stop further land degradation. The guidlines prohibit certain activies in designated protected zones, such as felling trees and cultivating land. 

One method China has taken to reverse desertification is by returning farmland to forest, and planting more trees. Since 2005, these green projects have helped to shrink desert land by over 1,700 square kilometers every year. That is in stark contrast to the annual worldwide desert expansion of 50 to 70,000 square kilometers. The Forestry Administration said by 2020, the environment will be improved in over 50% of desert areas in China. And that is a tough goal to reach in the next five years.