Great Green Wall (Africa)

This article is about the African initiative. For the initiative in China, see Great Green Wall (China).

Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel
AbbreviationGreat Green Wall (GGW)
Formation2005; 19 years ago (2005)
2010 (2010) (Agency)
Founder African Union
PurposeCombat desertification, improve soil fertility, and promote sustainable land use practices.
Location
  • Africa
Websitegrandemurailleverte.org
The Sahel region (brown), proposed Great Green Wall (green), and participating countries (white)
Satellite photo of the Sahara

The Great Green Wall or Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel (French: Grande Muraille Verte pour le Sahara et le Sahel; Arabic: السور الأخضر العظيم, romanized: as-Sūr al-ʾAkhḍar al-ʿAẓīm) is a project adopted by the African Union in 2007, initially conceived as a way to combat desertification in the Sahel region and hold back expansion of the Sahara desert, by planting a wall of trees stretching across the entire Sahel from Djibouti, Djibouti to Dakar, Senegal. The original dimensions of the "wall" were to be 15 km (9 mi) wide and 7,775 km (4,831 mi) long, but the program expanded to encompass nations in both northern and western Africa. The concept evolved into promoting water harvesting techniques, greenery protection and improving indigenous land use techniques, aimed at creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa.[1] Later it adopted the view that desert boundaries change based on rainfall variations.[2]

The ongoing goal of the project is to restore 100 million hectares (250 million acres) of degraded land and capture 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, and create 10 million jobs in the process all by 2030.

The project is a response to the combined effect of natural resources degradation and drought in rural areas. It seeks to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change as well as improve food security. The population of the Sahel is expected to double by 2039, emphasizing the importance of maintaining food production and environmental protection in the area.[3]

  1. ^ Morrison, Jim. "The "Great Green Wall" Didn't Stop Desertification, but it Evolved Into Something That Might". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  2. ^ Raman, Spoorthy (3 August 2023). "Progress is slow on Africa's Great Green Wall, but some bright spots bloom". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  3. ^ Puiu, Tibi (3 April 2019). "More than 20 African countries are planting a 8,027-km-long 'Great Green Wall'". ZME Science. Retrieved 16 April 2019.