The Great Green Wall Initiative

The Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI), launched in 2007 by the African Union, is a visionary effort to restore 100 million hectares of degraded drylands, improve livelihoods, and increase food security across the African Sahel.2 By 2030, the GGWSSI intends to sequester 250 million tons of carbon and create 10 million green jobs. The effort involves 11 countries, including Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan. In 2015, the South African Development Community joined the cause, expanding the effort across the continent. Today, over 35 member countries of the African Union are participating in the Great Green Wall Initiative.

In Senegal, interventions related to the GGWSSI have been underway since 2008, primarily focusing on ecological restoration, development of agroforestry initiatives, and the expansion of non-timber forest product value chains in three administrative regions: Tambacounda, Matam, and Louga. These interventions include reforestation, creating wind and fire breaks, promoting natural forest regeneration, and implementing job training programs. In total, 850,000 hectares of land have been restored, impacting an estimated 322,000 residents in Senegal.3 In 2022, the Senegalese Great Green Wall expanded its footprint and vision to include water management, food transformation, improved livestock practices, milk processing centers, increased access to irrigation, improved stoves, ecotourism, and renewable energy development.