GREAT GREEN WALL An African partnership to tackle desertification and land degradation

Desertification and land degradation challenge the lives of people in the Sahel and the Sahara, home to the world’s poorest populations.

 GREAT GREEN WALL An African partnership to tackle desertification and land degradation

In 2007, African Heads of State and Government endorsed the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative to tackle the detrimental social, economic and environmental impacts of land degradation and desertification in the region.

Supporting local communities in the sustainable management and use of their forests, rangelands and other natural resources, the initiative seeks to improve the food security and livelihood of the people, while contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

A harmonized strategy for the Great Green Wall was adopted in September 2012 by the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN).

According to AMCEN, it is a flagship programme that contributes to the goal of the UN’s Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, of “a land degradation neutral world”.

Desertification affects millions of the most vulnerable people in Africa, where two-thirds of the land cover consists of drylands and deserts.

Contrary to popular perception, desertification is not the loss of land to the desert or through sand-dune movement. Desertification refers to land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas resulting from factors such as human pressure on fragile eco-systems, deforestation and climate change.

Desertification and land degradation have a strong negative impact on the food security and livelihoods of the local communities in Africa’s drylands, home to the world’s poorest populations.

In 2007, African Heads of State and Government endorsed the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative with the objective of tackling the detrimental social, economic and environmental impacts of land degradation and desertification in the region.

The initiative aims to support the efforts of local communities in the sustainable management and use of forests, rangelands and other natural resources in drylands.

It also seeks to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well improve the food security and livelihoods of the people in the Sahel and the Sahara.

From the initial idea of a line of trees from east to west through the African desert, the vision for a Great Green Wall has evolved into that of a mosaic of interventions addressing the challenges facing the people in the Sahel and Sahara.

The overall goal of the Great Green Wall initiative is to strengthen the resilience of the region’s people and natural systems with sound ecosystems’ management, sustainable development of land resources, the protection of rural heritage and the improvement of the living conditions of the local population.

The Great Green Wall initiative promotes:

• Long-term solutions to the pressing challenges of desertification, land degradation and drought
• A mosaic of integrated interventions tackling the multiple challenges affecting the lives of people in the Sahel and Sahara
• Good local practices in environmental management and sustainable development
• An urgent call to development actors and policy makers to invest more in the development of Africa’s arid zones

The overall goal of the Great Green Wall initiative is to strengthen the resilience of people and natural systems in the Sahel and Sahara with sound ecosystems management, sustainable development of land resources, the protection of rural heritage and the improvement of the living conditions of the local population.

The initiative has set three main objectives:

• Improve the living conditions of populations in the arid zones of Africa and reduce their vulnerability to climate change, climate variability and drought.
• Improve the state and health of ecosystems in the arid zones of Africa and their resilience to climate change, climate variability and drought.
• Mobilize resources for the implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative through the establishment of efficient partnerships between national, regional and international stakeholders.

The Great Green Wall initiative covers more than 20 African countries, including Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, the Gambia, Senegal, Sudan and Togo.

Areas of intervention include:

• Biodiversity conservation Sustainable management of natural resources, including soils, water, forests, rangelands
• Promotion of sustainable rural production systems in agriculture, pastoralism and forestry
• Development of infrastructure for the production and marketing of rural products
• Diversification of economic activities, for example through rural production centers, to stimulate job creation and offer income generation activities, in particular for youth and women

Since 2011, FAO and its partners have been supporting the African Union Commission and 13 countries (Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, the Gambia, Senegal and the Sudan) to develop activities in the framework of the Great Green Wall initiative, with funding from the European Union ($1.9M), the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD ($380,000) and FAO ($456,000).

Achievements so far include:

• Development of a harmonized regional strategy for the effective implementation of the Great Green Wall initiative, validated in April 2012
• Development of action plans for 10 countries, defining Great Green Wall intervention priorities

The following activities are currently under development:

• Preparation of implementation plans for the remaining countries
• Formulation of project portfolios in the 13 Great Green Wall countries, including the design of cross-border projects and resource mobilization for their implementation
• Development of an umbrella platform for resource mobilization, knowledge management and best practices sharing and visibility

Capacity development and effective communication strategies and plans.

Partner countries

Algeria

Ms Zohra Ghazi, GGWSSI Focal Point

Direction Générale des Forêts
Ministère de l’Agriculture et du Développement Rural
Telephone : + 213 21 91 53 18; +213 775 21 09 40
Email: ghazizdz@yahoo.fr

Burkina Faso

Mr Adama Doulkom, GGWSSI Focal Point
Direction des Forêts
Ministère de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable
Telephone : +226 50 31 61 19; +226 70 34 44 14
Email: doulkom.adama@yahoo.fr

Chad

Mr Ahamat Mahamat Haggar, GGWSSI Focal Point

Agence Nationale de la Grande Muraille Verte (ANGMV)
Telephone: +235 66 2256 65; +235 90 5151 02
Email: ahthaggar@yahoo.fr

Djibouti

Mr Houssein Rirache Robleh, GGWSSI Focal Point
Direction de l’Aménagement du Territoire et de l’Environnement
Telephone : +253 21 35 10 20 ; +235 77 544848
Email: housseinrirach@yahoo.fr

Egypt

Raafat El-Sayed, GGWSSI Focal Point

Desert Research Center
Telephone: +201 22 47 60 692; +202 263 74 800
Email: Drc_office@yahoo.com; raafatkhidr@yahoo.com

Eritrea

Ms Astier Redaezghi
Ministry of Land, Water and Environment
Telephone: +291 1 12 03 11; +291 72 35 604
Email: astier07@gmail.comefremko.okbaghiorghis@gmail.com

Ethiopia

Mr Melaku Tadesse, National Coordinator
Sustainable Land Management Programme (SLMP)

Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources Sector

Telephone: +251 116 46 23 53; +251 114 40 98 43; +251 911 65 59 76
Email: mela635@gmail.com

The Gambia

Ousainou Cham
Ministry of Forestry and the Environment
Email: ousainouc@yahoo.com

Mali

Kouloutan Coulibaly, GGWSSI Focal Point
Direction Nationale des Eaux et Forêts

Telephone : +223 20 22 50 49; +223 76 39 46 85; +223 66980960
Email: kouloutan@yahoo.fr

Mauritania

Maloum Dine Maouloud
Direction de la Protection de la Nature
Ministère de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable
Email: maloumdine@yahoo.fr

Niger

Mr Maisharou Abdou, GGWSSI Focal Point
Ministère de l’Hydraulique et de l’Environnement
Telephone: +227 20 72 37 55; +227 90 43 49 79
Email : maisharoua65@yahoo.com

Nigeria

Mr Bukar Hassan, GGWSSI Focal Point
Federal Ministry of Environment
Tel: +234 806 016 41 60
Email: bukar_hassan@yahoo.co.uk

Senegal

Matar Cisse, Director
National Agency for the Great Green Wall
Telephone: +221338590531; +221338590532; +221338201909
Email: matarcissegmv@gmail.com

Sudan

Mubarak Ginawi, GGWSSI Focal Point
Email: m.ginawi@yahoo.com