More than 80% of Kenya’s territory consists of arid and semi-arid lands threatened by desertification. Dennis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center, proposed in an opinion column creating environmental barriers in such areas and applying China’s experience in restoring degraded land.
As Nation Kenya writes, about 30% of Kenya’s population lives in the country’s arid and semi-arid regions, which also hold 50% of its livestock, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Munene also drew attention to El Niño rains forecast for late 2026: overdried soils cannot quickly absorb heavy downpours, which, in his assessment, increases the risks of flash floods and landslides.
China’s afforestation program
As an example, the author cited China’s program to create forest belts in the country’s northern, northwestern and northeastern regions, launched in 1978. The column describes it as the world’s largest afforestation program. According to the data cited in the article, forest planting has made it possible to effectively manage 53% of China’s territory prone to desertification.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Among the technologies used in China, the article mentions straw barriers arranged in a grid pattern. They are placed on the desert surface to protect planted grasses and trees from moving sand dunes. The article also mentions laboratory-grown cyanobacteria to form a biological crust on sand and automated seeders using artificial intelligence.
Land restoration
According to China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the total area of land affected by desertification decreased by 50,000 square kilometers in 2009–2019. The article mentions the restoration of areas in the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia and the creation of the large artificial Saihanba forest in Hebei Province.
The column’s author believes that combining Chinese technological approaches with local sustainable land-management practices could help Kenya restore degraded arid areas and return them to productive use.
Download our app
