You may have heard of the Great Wall of China, but have you heard of the Great Green Wall in Africa? Read on to learn about the inspiring movement to reforest one million square kilometres of land in the dry Sahel region, an area at risk of turning into a desert.
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The Great Green Wall in Africa
Imagine growing a belt of trees and forests that stretches 8,000 kilometers across the Sahel region in Africa. When completed, the Great Green Wall will divide north and south, spanning across 11 countries from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East. But the wall is not meant to keep invaders out. Rather, its mission is to bring life back to the Sahel region.
Why Grow the Great Green Wall?
The Sahel is a vast land that separates the Sahara Desert in the north of the continent from lush forests in the south. Nestled along the edge of the world’s largest hot desert, the Sahel is heavily impacted by climate change. A combination of factors, from severe droughts to overfarming, is threatening the region with desertification, the process by which fertile land turns into desert. As one of the poorest regions of the world, local communities are feeling the effects the hardest as they are unable to use the land to grow food and generate income.
Map of route of Great Green Wall, participating countries and Sahel. Image: Wikimedia Commons.
Launched in 2007, the Great Green Wall project hopes to restore these vulnerable lands by bringing native plant life back to this arid landscape. Trees help us protect against desertification by holding the soil together and protecting it from wind and rain. They also create an ecosystem for other plants and animals to live.
Not Just a Tree-Planting Project
To grow the Great Green Wall, a variety of acacia, Baobab, fruit trees, grasses and shrubs will be planted. These plants, native to the African continent, are hardy and do not need much water to live.
Yet, the Great Green Wall is more than an effort to plant trees. It is an attempt to reverse the process of desertification, to bring life back to degraded land, making it usable again for farming and grazing. Agriculture is a major part of the economy for countries in the Sahel – including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal – helping to provide food, jobs, and income. And so, for the millions living in the region, the Great Green Wall is a symbol of hope and resilience to climate change.
Can The Great Green Wall Work?
Not all are hopeful about the Great Green Wall. Similar projects that have been implemented on a smaller scale in the past achieved only limited success. One big concern is that many planted trees in dry regions do not survive in the long term – with little rainfall, they may struggle to grow or even get cut down.
The initiative also faces other problems, such as a lack of funds. Some scientists estimate that the project could cost over $44 billion – an amount not easy to raise! Currently, it is also a challenge to grow the wall in some parts of the region due to the presence of violent conflict and crime.
Certainly, 17 years after its launch, progress is slow in building the Great Green Wall. About 200,000 square kilometres of trees have been planted so far, most of it in Ethiopia and Senegal, completing 25% of the target to reforest one million square kilometres of land by 2030.
The success of the Great Green Wall will likely depend on an increased effort – both locally and internationally. Local communities, with their knowledge of the land, play a crucial role in helping to care for newly planted trees. But they cannot do it alone. The international community has a role to play too, by providing the necessary funds and sharing their expertise.
The Great Green Wall is not just for the Sahel. With more than 75% of Earth’s land area facing degradation, it is in the world’s interest to see the project succeed.
Featured image: Aerial view of Northern Mali. Photo: United Nations Photo/Flickr.
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