The Sahara Desert’s expansion is a significant problem that is affecting many aspects of life in the region, including agriculture, food security, and the environment. It has grown by about 10% since 1920, and is expanding at a rate of about 39 miles per year.
The Great Green Wall is a project first adopted by the African Union in 2007, initially conceived as a way to combat desertification in the Sahel region and slow the expansion of the Sahara.
This ambitious project involves the planting of a giant wall of trees – stretching across the entire Sahel – across 22 countries – from Djibouti’s capital of the same name to Dakar, Senegal.
The original dimensions of the “wall” were to be nine miles wide and an incredible 4,831 miles long, but the program expanded to encompass nations in both northern and western Africa.
The ongoing goal of the project is to restore 100 million hectares (250 million acres) of degraded land and capture 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, and create 10 million jobs in the process – all by 2030.
The project is a response to the combined effect of natural resources degradation and drought in rural areas. It seeks to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Desertification reduces crop yields, causes food shortages, and increases poverty in impacted populations by destroying fertile land and water supplies.
The population of the Sahel is expected to double by 2039, emphasizing the importance of maintaining food production and environmental protection in this area.
The first proposal for a “Green front” was proposed by British explorer Richard St. Barbe Baker in the 1950s, during his expedition in the Sahara. He suggested a 30-mile-deep tree buffer to contain the expanding desert.
The idea then re-emerged in 2002, at the special summit in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, on the occasion of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. It was then approved in 2005.
Lessons for Africa’s green wall were taken from the Algerian Green Dam and the Green Wall of China – the latter of which began in 1978 to slow the spread of the Gobi Desert. It is expected to be completed by 2050.
Since 2014, the eco-friendly search engine, Ecosia, has been partnered with the local population in Burkina Faso. Ecosia spread its campaign to Ethiopia in 2017 and to Senegal the following year.
According to Ecosia, it has planted over 15.1 million trees and 34,930 acres were restored in Burkina Faso; in Senegal, it planted over 1.4 million trees, restored 740 acres and in Ethiopia, it has restored 8,920 acres as of September 2021.
As of 2023, about 18 million hectares or 18% of the target had been restored.
However, the project has been plagued with unfulfilled promises, delays and poor coordination.
