Trees function as the lungs of our planet but they also serve as footholds. Their roots stabilise and aerate the soil, allowing water to be absorbed. Trees are a powerful antidote to the impact of over grazing which exposes the soil to erosion by wind and the rain and also compacts the soil, diminishing its capacity to hold water.
The Great Green Wall is an African-led movement with an epic ambition to grow an 8,000km natural wonder of the world across the entire width of Africa.
A decade in and by 2016 and roughly 15% underway, the initiative is already bringing life back to Africa’s degraded landscapes at an unprecedented scale, providing food security, jobs and a reason to stay for the millions who live along its path.
The Wall promises to be a compelling solution to the many urgent threats not only facing the African Continent, but the global community as a whole – notably climate change, drought, famine, conflict and migration.
Once complete, the Great Green Wall will be the largest living structure on the planet, 3 times the size of the Great Barrier Reef.
The 16 kilometer-wide wall of trees, bushes and shrubs crosses Africa’s Sahel region at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and passing through 21 countries, starting on the west coast in Senegal and ending on the east coast in Djibouti started in 2007. The USD 8 billion project is expected to create 350,000 jobs in one of the poorest regions of the world.
In Senegal, around 11 million drought-resistant trees such as acacias have already been planted. The millions of plants will make the ground more fertile, allowing about 100 million hectares of once lifeless desert to become agricultural land by 2030. In Ethiopia, 15 million hectares of agricultural land have already been reclaimed from the previously rapidly expanding Sahara.
History
During an expedition to the Sahara in 1954 Richard St. Barbe Baker proposed a ‘Green Front’ to act as a 30 mile deep tree buffer to contain the expanding desert. The idea re-emerged in 2002 at the special summit in N’Djamena, Chad on the occasion of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. It was approved by the Conference of Leaders and Heads of States members of the Community of Sahel Saharan States during their seventh ordinary session held in Ouagadougou in June, 2005. The African Union endorsed it in 2007 as the ‘Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel {GGWSSI.
The GGWSSI has modified and expanded the scope of the project to include boosting food security, and supporting local communities to adapt to climate change. The Wall project now consists of a mosaic of projects implemented by over 20 countries in the region with the support of about 24 development partners.
Contrary to popular perception, desertification is not caused by sand-dune movement. It occurs during periods of drought, where activities like overgrazing can lead to extreme erosion of topsoil. This is exactly what has happened in the district of Mopti in Mali where recurrent drought, unsustainable land practices, and deforestation have severely degraded the land, leading to poverty and food crises.
Working with our partner, Sahel Eco, and local communities, ITF has now regenerated 16,972 trees in this area. The trees chosen are drought resistant species that fertilize the soil as well as providing fruits, fodder and fuel wood for local communities.
The results speak for themselves. In Ethiopia, 15 million hectares of degraded land restored, in Nigeria, 5 million hectares restored, and in Sudan, 2 000 hectares restored. As of the end of 2015, Senegal has planted over 12 million trees over 40,000 hectares of land. And as of March 2016, the tree population in Burkina Faso has increased by over 3 million.
There is a philosophy that says first there were trees, then there was man and then there was the desert.
Reference https://www.greatgreenwall.org/about-great-green-wall.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall
https://internationaltreefoundation.org/the-great-green-wall-for-the-sahara-and-the-sahel/
Tree Weaver 