Great Green Wall

Great Green Wall
Name	Great Green Wall
Caption	Pan-Sahel restoration corridor
Location	Sahel and Sahara, Africa
Area	~8,000 km across Sahel
Established	2007 (initiative), ongoing
Governing body	African Union (AU), African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)

Great Green Wall The Great Green Wall is a pan-African restoration initiative to halt desertification across the Sahel and Sahara by planting trees, restoring degraded lands, and supporting resilient livelihoods. Launched under the auspices of the African Union and coordinated with UNCCD frameworks, the initiative links national programs across the Sahelian countries and engages multilateral institutions, bilateral donors, non-governmental organizations, and community networks. It aims to integrate ecological restoration with rural development across a corridor stretching from Djibouti to Senegal and involving states such as Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, Chad, and Sudan.

Background and Objectives

The project arose from escalating land degradation, recurrent droughts, and population pressures following events like the 1970s Sahel droughts and the 1984–85 famine that affected Niger, Mali, Mauritania, and Chad. Objectives include restoring degraded ecosystems, increasing carbon sequestration in line with commitments under the Paris Agreement, enhancing food security for vulnerable populations in regions such as Darfur and the Lake Chad Basin, and reducing drivers of forced displacement implicated in humanitarian crises like the Mali War and insurgencies involving groups linked to Boko Haram and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

History and Development

Origins trace to proposals within the African Union and advocacy by environmentalists during summits including the African Union Summit in 2007. Early pilot projects referenced innovations from agroforestry practices in Niger and community-led regreening demonstrated by activists like Yacouba Sawadogo (Zai technique) and civil society groups working around Ouagadougou and Niamey. Major milestones include the formalization of the Great Green Wall Accelerator by the United Nations donor meetings, the endorsement of AUDA-NEPAD strategies, and significant pledges at summits such as the COP21 and COP26 climate negotiations. The timeline includes national reforestation campaigns in Ethiopia (Million Tree Initiative), large-scale restoration financing via the Green Climate Fund, and bilateral investments from states like China, France, and Germany.

Implementation and Projects

Implementation is multi-scalar: national strategies in Senegal (the “Great Green Wall for the Sahel and Sahara” national program), landscape restoration in Ethiopia (Green Legacy), community-based natural resource management in Burkina Faso and Ghana, and transboundary schemes in the Sahel Region. Technical partners include Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union programs, and NGOs such as World Resources Institute and IUCN. Activities range from planting native species like Acacia senegal and Faidherbia albida to water-harvesting earthworks inspired by traditional techniques from the Sahelian belt, assisted natural regeneration demonstrated near Timbuktu and pilot carbon projects registered for voluntary markets overseen by standards like the Verified Carbon Standard.

Ecological and Environmental Impact

Restoration efforts have reported gains in vegetative cover, soil fertility, and groundwater recharge in corridor zones including parts of Ethiopia’s Tigray highlands, Niger’s Zinder region, and coastal fringe areas near Dakar. Increased carbon sequestration contributes to national Nationally Determined Contributions under the UNFCCC. Biodiversity benefits include habitat for Sahelian bird species migrating along the East Atlantic Flyway and recovery of agroecological functions supporting pastoralist routes used by communities in Somalia and Mauritania. However, scientific assessments emphasize heterogeneity: satellite analyses by research centers at institutions like University of Oxford and CNRS show patchy success and variable long-term survival of plantings.

Socioeconomic and Cultural Impacts

Social outcomes include expanded income sources through agroforestry products such as gum arabic in Sudan and fodder in Niger, enhanced food security in villages around Agadez, and employment from nursery operations supported by programs from UNDP and World Bank projects. Cultural impacts involve revival of indigenous land stewardship practices practiced by ethnic groups like the Tuareg and Fulani, integration with local customary institutions around grazing rights, and promotion of women-led cooperatives modeled after initiatives supported by African Women’s Development Fund and Oxfam.

Governance, Funding, and Partnerships

Governance combines AUDA-NEPAD coordination with national ministries of environment and agriculture in countries including Ethiopia, Senegal, and Nigeria. Financing mixes multilateral lending (World Bank Sahel projects), climate finance from Green Climate Fund, bilateral aid from European Union member states, philanthropic grants from foundations such as the Rockefeller Foundation, and private-sector carbon investment mechanisms involving firms headquartered in London and Paris. Partnerships extend to research networks at institutions like University of Cape Town, CIRAD, and the IWMI.

Challenges and Criticism

Critics cite overambitious targets, worries about monoculture tree-planting reminiscent of historical afforestation debates involving Ethiopia and China in other regions, land tenure conflicts involving customary rights recognized in cases adjudicated by national courts in Burkina Faso, and limited monitoring capacity despite remote sensing by agencies such as ESA. Political instability in areas affected by the Sahel crisis and armed groups linked to regional conflicts complicate implementation and donor confidence. Scholars at London School of Economics and Institute of Development Studies caution that success hinges on secure land tenure, locally led governance, diversified funding streams, and alignment with regional instruments like the African Union Agenda 2063.

Category:Environmental restoration projects