From Dust Bowl to Green Plateau
The Loess Plateau, covering 640,000 square kilometers in north-central China, was historically one of the most eroded landscapes on Earth. Its name comes from loess, a fine, yellowish silt deposited by wind over millennia, which forms a soil that is both fertile and extremely prone to erosion. For centuries, intensive agriculture and grazing stripped the land of its natural vegetation. The exposed soil washed away, contributing up to 90% of the massive sediment load that gives the Yellow River its characteristic color. This erosion led to a cycle of poverty and environmental destruction, with the river flooding more than 1,500 times in recorded history, earning it the name "China's Sorrow." By the late 20th century, the average erosion rate was between 5,000 and 15,000 metric tons per square kilometer annually.
A Landscape Re-Engineered
In 1994, the Chinese government, with assistance from the World Bank, initiated the Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project. A subsequent and even larger initiative, the "Grain for Green" program, began in 1999. The core strategy involved paying farmers to convert steep, erosion-prone cropland back into forest and grassland. This involved large-scale construction of terraces, banning free-range grazing of goats and sheep, and planting specific vegetation. Among the main species planted were hardy trees like Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and shrubs such as Caragana korshinskii. Between 2000 and 2018, the project converted over 12,300 square kilometers of cultivated land. The results were dramatic. Vegetation cover across the plateau increased from about 32% in 1999 to over 63% by 2019. The flow of sediment into the Yellow River was reduced by more than 100 million tons each year.
The project had economic effects. The creation of stable, terraced farmland and the shift to higher-value crops and orchards helped double the incomes of many local farmers. Per capita grain output in the second project period rose from 365 kg to 591 kg per year. The project is one of the largest and most successful soil and water conservation efforts in the world.