Since I
discovered this project, I cannot wait to be involved in it!!! Many of
the researches I have run about the reforestation in our planet, trees
planting, quality of life of local residents and global warming are all linked in here.
Hope you will
enjoy the reading!
Africa started an epic effort which aim to fight climate changes and it will take many decades to complete. The main scope is to fight the expansion of the desert and at the same time to provide food, jobs and a future for the millions of people who live in the region on the outskirts of the dry land. In fact, The United Nations estimates that at the current rate of growth by 2025, two thirds of Africa’s arable land will be covered in Saharan sand. Therefore it has been planned to built a giant wall of trees in the center of Africa, just below the Sahara desert, it will stretch across the entire continent to help halt the advancing sands: it is called The Great Green Wall.
The origin of this project goes back in 1927, during the colonial time when the French colonial forester mr Louis Lavauden suggested that deserts were spreading due to deforestation. In the 50s also the English forester Richard St. Barbe Baker expressed the idea of a "green front" in order to form a wide barrier of trees to contain the spreading desert. Few decades later, in 1970, droughts in the Horn of Africa, gave wings to the idea, and finally in 2007 the African Union approved the Great Green Wall Initiative. Despite lots of criticisms, the project began in 2007 and it is estimated it will cost more than $8 billions. In order to halt and reverse land degradation, it is expected that each year it will be restored 10 million hectares.The Initiative is backed by many regional and international organizations, among the many there are:European Union (EU), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Pan African Farmers Organization (PAFO), Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), United Nations Envirnonment Programme (UNEP), Walloon Region of Belgium, Wallonie-Bruxelles International and The World Bank.
The Great Green Wall is an African Uninon program bringing together more than 20 countries from the Sahelo-Saharan region including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad,Cape Verde, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, the Gambia and Tunisia.
This project
stretches for 8,000 km long and 15 km wide and 11 countries are involve in it.
Because of its huge commitment several state leaders expressed their will of
not wanting to proceed with this project, however for the time being Senagal is
doing great, in fact they have planted 11 milions trees in the first few years.
The Great Green Wall initiative hopes trees will slow soil erosion, slow wind speeds, help rain water filter into the ground and to stop the desert from growing.
There are 37 suitable species of trees that are planted and they are "drought-adapted species" native to the areas they are planted, this will help them to root.
Among the objective of this project are:
- Improve life standards to the population: fighting droughts, increase the number of natural resource that the locals can access and as consequence diminish the migration;
- Changing the environment for the future generations;.
- Growing more than just trees: growing the fertile land, give access to food to millions of people; giving jobs to locals; give the citizens a reason to stay in their own country; growing economic opportunities to boost businesses, developping a symbol of peace among the different countries, growing resilience to climate changes in a region where the temperatures are expected to rise faster than anywhere else on Earth.
Senegal for instance, has welcomed this initiative and in the first decades they planted eleven millions of trees which had a very positive impact in the community. In fact, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade affirms that the Green Wall has generated a whole new economy, and now Women look after the crops which give them work and an income to sustain their families and as consequence attendance of kids at local schools have also increased.
Since the beginning of this project there has been
many criticisms about the fact that the ecosystem should be respected, the extreme high costs of planting so many trees and
the futility to fight the nature forces. Others support the evidence of
global warming and sustain the fact that something needs to be done.
A recent analysis by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) run in 2016, shows the challenges this project faces, such like the hight costs, the slow progresses and how the dream of a green forest is not more than a green vegetation.
However there are economic ways to proceed. In fact among the most popular technique to reforest areas at lower costs there is this one called Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration. In here it is expected that floods and animals move seeds to places where they can sprout and root.These could rapidly re-green a landscape, reducing the need for trees planting, as long as farmers protect them from fire and cattle. This technique has proven to produce good results at low costs in areas where the ecological memory is sufficient for sprouts to come up by themselves and where farmers have the right to use the trees once they get big.
Nowadays it seems that the Green Wall project has slightly changed from a reforestation project to a sustainable land and water management. This because of the many challenges that each country had to face. Niger for instance, started to plant trees in great pomp but had to face the watering issued which cause many trees to died. Also, when the govern chanced the efforts in the project reduced and the population started using the trees just planted for their family needs, which was a step back in the greening of the country.
Considering the massive project and all the different issues each single country has to face such as politically, lack investments or absence of resources, it is great to see that things are moving even if slowly. I am very excited about this Green Wall of Africa and wish to have the opportunity to see it first hand one day!!
Further information can be found in the below links:
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/22/africa/great-green-wall-sahara/index.html
http://theconversation.com/africas-got-plans-for-a-great-green-wall-why-the-idea-needs-a-rethink-78627
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/11/great-green-wall-initiative-offers-unique-opportunity-to-combat-climate-change-in-africa-un-agency/
This project
stretches for 8,000 km long and 15 km wide and 11 countries are involve in it.
Because of its huge commitment several state leaders expressed their will of
not wanting to proceed with this project, however for the time being Senagal is
doing great, in fact they have planted 11 milions trees in the first few years.
However there are economic ways to proceed. In fact among the most popular technique to reforest areas at lower costs there is this one called Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration. In here it is expected that floods and animals move seeds to places where they can sprout and root.These could rapidly re-green a landscape, reducing the need for trees planting, as long as farmers protect them from fire and cattle. This technique has proven to produce good results at low costs in areas where the ecological memory is sufficient for sprouts to come up by themselves and where farmers have the right to use the trees once they get big. 
