At the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from August 17 to 28, a side event titled "Building a Green Mongolian Plateau – China-Mongolia Cooperation on Desertification Control, Ecological Restoration, and Mongolia's 'Billion Trees' Initiative" took place on August 18.

In a post-forum dialogue, Zhang Zhiqiang, Vice President of Beijing Forestry University, highlighted the immense potential for China-Mongolia collaboration in combating desertification. He noted that Mongolia's current ecological restoration needs are substantial, while China, through decades of practice, has developed a mature framework encompassing technology, policy, and financing mechanisms.

During his address, Zhang emphasized that desertification, land degradation, and drought have become increasingly severe global ecological challenges. Approximately 40% of the world's land area is affected by land degradation, and China's desertified area reaches 2.5737 million square kilometers, accounting for 26.8% of its national territory. The Mongolian Plateau, with its fragile ecosystem and high sensitivity to climate change, represents a critical zone for ecological protection and restoration in global arid regions.

Zhang stressed that ecological restoration is far more complex than simply planting trees and grass. Blindly expanding green coverage cannot achieve long-term governance. Truly sustainable ecological recovery must consistently respect nature, follow its laws, and protect it, adhering to scientific governance principles. This requires precisely defining restoration areas, scientifically selecting vegetation types and configuration models, and appropriately controlling restoration scale to systematically address various ecological challenges.

He stated that China is willing to share successful experiences from initiatives like the "Three-North" Shelterbelt Program with Mongolia, providing scientific and technological support for Mongolia's "Billion Trees" initiative, and jointly promoting green development of the Mongolian Plateau.

In his dialogue, Zhang further elaborated on the cooperation strategy of the China-Mongolia Desertification Control Cooperation Center (referred to as the "China-Mongolia Center"). He pointed out that the potential for cooperation is enormous, with Mongolia having urgent needs and China possessing mature technological, policy, and financing systems. However, the China-Mongolia Center cannot handle everything; its core mission is to assist in local capacity building.

Specifically, capacity building includes positioning and monitoring, establishing demonstration projects, and personnel training. Demonstration projects can drive broader participation, while training programs help local personnel master key technologies and apply them in local practices. Currently, Beijing Forestry University has established cooperation with relevant Mongolian government departments, research institutions, and universities in areas such as desertification dynamic monitoring, eco-hydrological evolution patterns, degraded land vegetation restoration, water resource carrying capacity assessment, windbreak and sand-fixation technology development, and nature reserve construction and management.

Zhang emphasized that future efforts must further integrate long-term field observations, basic research, and frontline ecological governance, promoting the transition of scientific research outcomes from laboratories to practical governance scenarios.

Zhang also noted that many Chinese enterprises are currently operating in Mongolia, and they can play a greater role in ecological construction, grassland protection, and herder livelihoods. At the same time, enterprises undertaking development and construction projects locally must also carry out appropriate ecological restoration and protection measures.

It was reported that multiple Chinese companies have already joined the "Business4Land" initiative. Moving forward, the China-Mongolia Center will continue to consolidate efforts from all parties, deepen cooperation, and promote more high-quality scientific research outcomes to move beyond laboratories and take root on the vast grasslands.

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