14 January 2021.
14 billions USD have been plaedged at the recent One Planet Summit for Biodiversity for the The Great Green Wall for Sahel and Sahara Initiative. The funds will be used to restore degraded land, strengthen resilience, create green jobs and protect biodiversity. World Bank has committed 5 billion USD, African Development Bank committed 6.5 billion USD and Government of France committed 14 billion USD.
About the Great Green Wall Initiative:
- The Great Green Wall is an African-led initiative.
- It was started in 2007 by the African Union to combat desertification, land degradation, drought.
Objective of the Initiative:
- The project aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
- So far between 2007 and 2019, the Great Green Wall initiative has restored only four million hectares of land.
- The objective is to grow an 8,000km long line of trees and plants across Sahel from Atlantic Coast of Senegal to the east coast og Dijbouti.
- To create huge swathe of green across the entire African continent by 12 African nations to halt desertification.
Sustainable Development Goals
The Great Green Wall initiative will contribute fifteen of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The main objective of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is to reach Land neutrality by 2030. Thus, the Great Green Wall initiative will help achieve this.
Countries selected as intervention zones for the Great Green Wall initiative.
- Chad.
- Burkina Faso.
- Eritrea.
- Ethiopia
- Mali.
- Niger.
- Mautitania.
- Nigeria
- Sudan
- Senegal
- Djibouti