Sheep grazing on grass. In the background the shallow underground water layer is still widely visible in the sandy soils of the eastern confines of the Horquin Desert (Inner Mongolia) in May-June, just before the arrival of the humid Western Monsoon. - - Afforestation, Research and Devpt in the Three-North Region: GCP/CPR/009/BEL. Since 1978 China has been implementing a massive rehabilitation programme aimed at afforestation of more than 35 million ha. over a 73-year period in the arid and sub-arid belt of Northwest, North and Northeast China, the so-called Three-North Region. Th