每年的6月17日“世界防治荒漠化與干旱日”（World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought) 由聯合國于1994年設立，旨在提升全球防治土地退化意識。??

近日，《自然》雜志發表文章《中國的“三北”防護林工程助力遏制全球荒漠化進程》及社論《中國“三北”防護林工程給世界的啟示》，高度評價我國“三北”防護林工程的成果成效，并指出其可為全球其他地區特別是非洲地區提供借鑒。

文章指出，為應對土地干旱帶來的挑戰，全球眾多國家啟動了大規模防治荒漠化計劃，其中規模最大的當屬中國“三北防護林工程”。當前，一些國家的大規模防治荒漠化項目因缺乏持續的資金支持和項目后續維護而失敗，中國“三北”工程卻打破了這一魔咒。而其成功的關鍵在于長期的戰略規劃、可預測且持續的資金投入，以及注重鼓勵綠化工程規劃者借鑒歷史經驗。

A pair of recent Nature articles — one comment and one editorial — highlighted that while many countries and regions have launched programs to fight desertification, green wall projects in many countries beyond China have struggled to survive.

Yet China's great green wall — the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program — thrives, thanks to its long-term strategies and predictable funding that incentivize local people and businesses to invest in restoration.

“三北”工程是在中國西北、華北、東北三北地區建設的大型人工林業生態工程。工程于1978年啟動，建設范圍涉及13個省（自治區、直轄市），占我國陸地總面積約46.7% 。

《自然》雜志指出，自啟動以來，工程推動三北地區森林覆蓋率從約5%增長到2023年的約14%，受土壤侵蝕影響的面積減少2/3，沙塵暴的強度和發生頻率顯著降低，北京等受下風向影響的城市空氣質量明顯改善。

The Three-North program, a large-scale ecological afforestation project launched in 1978, covers 13 provincial-level regions across northwestern, northern and northeastern China. By 2023, it had nearly tripled forest cover — from about 5 percent to about 14 percent — while soil erosion had declined by two-thirds.

2025年10月20日，從空中鳥瞰甘肅省張掖市臨澤縣北部的“三北”防護林網 圖源：東方IC

“三北”工程啟動以來，中國政府持續加大荒漠化防治投入，制定出臺《防沙治沙法》，將防沙治沙措施納入各級政府發展規劃。同時，通過激勵措施吸引當地居民和企業投資生態修復項目，確保資金持續投入。

以庫布其沙漠為例，當地企業和牧民開展荒漠化防治工作可獲得低息貸款并享受稅收減免政策，2010年以來此類貸款已吸引超過30億元人民幣投資。

As most green wall projects fail due to a lack of continued finance and maintenance, China has repeatedly committed to funding the project, and its incentives for local investment have ensured that the stream of funding never dries up.

In the Kubuqi Desert, for example, enterprises and herders can obtain low-interest loans and tax reductions for sand control, a policy package that has attracted more than 3 billion yuan in investment since 2010.

中國林業科學研究院首席科學家盧琦是“三北”工程的常客，對政府激勵政策在工程推進中的重要作用有著切身體會。

在年初一次訪問內蒙古自治區時，盧琦被當地工程人員的工作熱情深深打動。盡管天氣寒冷，治沙工作早在2月28日就開始了。盧琦表示，這種熱情的首要原因是迫切需要建設一個更好的家園，政府的政策也使當地農民和牧民能夠看到切實的利益。

“每個人都在趕著參與，他們的熱情是無法抑制的。”盧琦說。

"Everyone is rushing to take part, and their enthusiasm is irrepressible," Lu said after a recent visit to the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

《自然》雜志強調，隨著氣候變化使全球干旱地區進一步擴大，中國“三北”工程的借鑒意義也更加凸顯。但文章同時也指出，由于法律和財政能力上的差異，中國的財政策略不能被簡單復制。

對任何國家而言，切實可行的第一步是將防沙治沙從短期的林業項目提升為政府層面的長期責任。來自他國的外部援助應用于撬動國內配套資金，而非充當一次性現金注入。

But China's financial strategies cannot simply be replicated in countries with different laws and fiscal capacities.

"A practical first step for any country is to elevate sand control from a short-term forestry project to a long-term government-level obligation," the Nature comment said. "External aid should be used to leverage domestic cofinance, rather than serve as a one-off cash injection."

另外，資源較為匱乏的國家可以借鑒中國經驗在村莊、道路和抽水站等高價值資產附近安裝規模較小的光伏帶。雖然這些項目需要大量的前期投資，但電力銷售可以為維護提供可預測的收入。

In countries with fewer resources, smaller photovoltaic systems could be installed near high-value assets such as roads and water pumping stations. While these projects require substantial up-front investment, electricity sales could provide predictable revenue for maintenance.

《自然》雜志社論指出，各國政府需要將生態修復視為一項投資，而非成本。而中國“三北”工程的經驗恰恰印證了這一點——當理念從“投入”轉向“投資”后，回報非常顯著。

The Nature editorial stressed that another key lesson from China's experience is that governments in other countries need to view ecological restoration as an investment, not as a cost.

記者：侯黎強

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