<P> According to the Chinese government website, the Central Government invested more than 40 billion yuan between 1998 and 2001 on protection of vegetation, farm subsidies and conversion of farmland to forest . Between 1999 and 2002, China converted 7.7 million hectares of farmland into forest . </P> <P> China's marine environment, including the Yellow Sea and South China Sea, are considered among the most degraded marine areas on earth . Loss of natural coastal habitats due to land reclamation has resulted in the destruction of more than 65% of tidal wetlands around China's Yellow Sea coastline in approximately 50 years . Rapid coastal development for agriculture, aquaculture and industrial development are considered the primary drivers of coastal destruction in the region . </P> <P> Desertification remains a serious problem, consuming an area greater than the area used as farmland . Although desertification has been curbed in some areas, it is still expanding at a rate of more than 67 km2 every year . 90% of China's desertification occurs in the west of the country . Approximately 30% of China's surface area is desert . China's rapid industrialization could cause this area to drastically increase . The Gobi Desert in the north currently expands by about 950 square miles (2,500 km) per year . The vast plains in northern China used to be regularly flooded by the Yellow River . However, overgrazing and the expansion of agricultural land could cause this area to increase . In 2009, it was estimated that over 200 high - altitude lakes in Zoigê Marsh, which provides 30% of the Yellow River's water, had dried up . </P> <P> In 2001, China initiated a "Green Wall of China" project . It is a project to create a 2,800 - mile (4,500 km) "green belt" to hold back the encroaching desert . The first phase of the project, to restore 9 million acres (36,000 km2) of forest, will be completed by 2010 at an estimated cost of $8 billion . The Chinese government believes that, by 2050, it can restore most desert land back to forest . The project is possibly the largest ecological project in history . It has also been criticized on various grounds such as other methods being more effective . </P>

What are the threats in china in terms of environment