Amid the rolling sand dunes and jagged stone pillars of China’s Ulan Buh Desert, hundreds of scientists are gathered at the Desert Forestry Experimental Centre.
Located in Inner Mongolia’s Bayannur City, they pore over data and prepare drought-resistant saplings under the watchful guidance of Lu Qi, Chief Scientist of the Chinese Academy of Forestry. Their goal is to fight off desertification and nurture a green oasis in one of China’s most inhospitable landscapes.
The Ulan Buh is one of the country’s major deserts, and part of a desert ecosystem that covers more than one-fifth of China’s land. The country has struggled for millennia with desertification. Climate change has made the process worse. The creeping sands threaten farmland and villages, and cause more than US$9 billion in direct economic losses each year.
China, though, has a seemingly simple solution: plant and sustain strips of forests to block desert expansion. Success, however, is contingent on rigorous research into water scarcity, technological advancement and even multilateral cooperation.
Lu has expertise in all of these challenges. In a career spanning three decades, he has led more than 50 scientific projects, published over 180 peer-reviewed papers, written 20 books and has helped China implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The 61-year-old is channelling that experience into revitalizing the desert.
“The important driving force behind combating desertification is not just to protect nature but also to protect our own living environment,” Lu tells the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
For his efforts to address desertification through science and multilateral engagement, Lu has been named a 2024 Champion of the Earth – the United Nations’ highest environmental honour – in the Science and Innovation category. Lu is one of six laureates in 2024 .
“Desertification and drought are devastating the planet and human well-being,” says Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director. “But by combining science and policy, Lu Qi has shown that it is possible to counter land degradation, help communities adapt to climate change and create a better future for millions.”
Seeing the desert for the trees
Lu’s early academic pursuits centred around forestry; he never saw the desert until he was in his thirties and had completed his doctorate in ecology. But combating desertification falls under the forestry industry’s umbrella, underpinning China’s stance that reforestation and afforestation, the planting of trees where there were none before, are among the key solutions.
Lu says his “passion for exploring the unknown” led him to China’s landmark Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program. Dubbed the “Great Green Wall”, the initiative was launched in 1978 and is the world’s largest afforestation project, according to researchers . It covers more than 30 million hectares across the country’s northern reaches. China hopes it will extend to over 400 million hectares – an area larger than India and Egypt combined – by 2050.
Lu has played an important role in the project – from collecting data in the field during his early career to analyzing desertification strategies in the lab. He is the founding president of the Institute of the Great Green Wall in Beijing, which provides scientific and technological support to major national ecological projects. The institute also engages in multilateral cooperation via training workshops and conferences, which Lu says gives other countries access to “China's wisdom and solutions”.
“Forests play a crucial role in water conservation and soil preservation. They are also closely linked to people's quality of life, income, and food security,” Lu says. Earlier this year, the government reportedly pledged US$1.7 billion to reinforce the Tree-North initiative.
According to China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration , its results have been encouraging. At the end of the twentieth century, deserts in China were expanding by 3,436 square kilometres a year . In comparison, from 2009, deserts have been shrinking by 2,424 square kilometres per year, with up to 8.8 million hectares of China’s desertified areas turned into green land since 2016. This is restraining soil erosion, improving living conditions for desert communities and providing a buffer against sandstorms for villages and even major cities, like Beijing. Forests also sequester twice as much carbon as they emit, contributing to climate change mitigation.
“The Three-North Project is not just an ecological governance project – it is also a comprehensive strategic plan that tightly integrates regional economic development with people's happiness and well-being,” Lu says.
New frontiers
On a brisk and clear autumn day, Lu surveys the rough terrain of the Ulan Buh Desert. Powerlines stretch across swathes of sand while pockets of green shoots and trees pepper an otherwise gray-brown landscape. In the distance, construction trucks and farmers are reshaping land and expanding irrigation canals that draw water from the Yellow River.
The area has struggled against the encroaching desert for hundreds of years, says Lu. Now, it exemplifies China’s desertification management efforts.
Under Lu’s supervision, researchers have identified and collected saplings of drought-resistant plants suitable for the region. The institute has already converted more than 11,000 hectares of desert into fertile land in the Ulan Buh, Lu says.
But the fight is far from over.
“Combating desertification requires comprehensive participation throughout the entire process, across all dimensions and regions,” Lu says. “Our work goes beyond policy suggestions; it includes providing technical support, data analysis and solutions, all of which are outcomes of our research team.”
Lu has provided his expertise to the UN Development Programme , the Global Environment Facility and several other international organizations at the forefront of global desertification action. Many of his research papers and books also focus on policymaking and offer best practices to mitigate desertification, land degradation and drought through multilateral cooperation.
The State Council of China named Lu as a counsellor in 2024 to help guide the government’s approach to critical issues. The appointment is the latest landmark in Lu’s influence in the policymaking sphere. It is also testament to his and China’s innovative approach to a centuries-long problem.
“We live in a ‘sea of sand,’” he says, quoting a Chinese idiom. “This scenery is both awe-inspiring and full of potential. Therefore, my wish and expectation are that more people will realize this and actively participate in the great cause of desert governance and ecological restoration.”
