Video Transcript: In 2007, these African countries embarked on a momentous challenge: to build a wall across the entire width of Africa! But unlike The Great Wall of China or Trump's wall, this wall is made from trees and grass, and instead of keeping people out, it holds back THE ENTIRE SAHARA DESERT. Just south of the Sahara is a region called the Sahel, a semi-arid land home to 135 million people [1]. The problem is, climate change is causing the Sahara to expand into the Sahel, at a breakneck pace of up to 48 [2] km (or 525 American football pitches) every year. This creates persistent droughts which at best destroy farms and livelihoods, and at worst cause famines killing hundreds of thousands of people (ref for 1960-1980 drought). To make matters worse, the Sahel’s population is exploding and could reach that of the US, 330 million people, by 2050! The combination of an increasing population and a reducing availability of land and water are creating conflicts, which force young people to migrate to neighbouring countries. To avoid a humanitarian disaster, the African union launched The Great Green Wall Project. The aim is to plant a green corridor spanning 8,000 km in length and 15 km in width, from Senegal to Djibouti by 2030. For context, that’s more than twice as long as the US-Mexico border and more than 10x the length that Trump was able to add to the border wall [3]. This corridor would become a new world wonder, restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequestering 250 million tons of CO2, and creating 10 million jobs in the process. This could increase climate resilience, helping to prevent catastrophic future famines, and ultimately benefits the entire planet by reducing global average temperatures [4]. The project has already received support from the UNCCD, FAO, AMCEN, UK Botanical Gardens and the World Bank [5, 6]. So, how’s it going?... Project leaders weren’t going into this blind, they learned many lessons from similar desert push-back projects like the Algerian Green Dam and the Green wall of China. Armed with this knowledge, there was a sense of hope in the air... However, the project has struggled to make headway. By 2020, a measly $1 billion had been raised, out of the $30 billion needed [7]. Officially only 4% of the wall has been completed (or around 4 million hectares of trees). But if you consider the wider restoration efforts of independent farmers planting crops and other vegetation, then the progress becomes closer to 15%, with the majority in Ethiopia, Niger, and Eritrea [8, 9, 10, 11]. Either way, the project will have to proceed 20x faster, restoring an additional 8 million hectares per year, to finish by 2030 [12]. Thankfully, in the last two years the Great Green Wall received an additional $20 billion from international organisations, in a final push to finish the project by 2030 [13]. In our first ever video, we discussed the pitfalls of reforestation, by relying on monocultures to cut down costs [14], and the great green wall is certainly in danger of making these mistakes, if sufficient funding is not obtained . However, the evidence shows that by engaging with local communities, scientists have identified desirable tree and grass species which are well adapted to the local environment. This further increases the great green wall’s chances of success, as the tree roots lock soil and water in place, allowing crops and livestock to be farmed in the region and drinking wells to remain plentiful. In fact, in those regions which have already begun work, migration is down, and both school attendance and employment are up [9]. As mentioned, the increasing population and reduction of water and farmable land are creating conflicts, which force young people to leave the Sahel whilst those unable to migrate face the risk of famine. It would be inhumane for the world to allow such a disaster to occur, which is exactly why the great green wall has received support from the UNCCD, FAO, AMCEN and the World Bank [13,15]. But humanitarian sentiment isn’t the only factor motivating foreign interests in the great green wall. Our globalised economy is hyper-sensitive to the happenings across the planet, remember the Evergreen? So aside from the rapid degradation of millions of human lives, the large-scale famine, conflict and migration in the Sahel could cause economic instability across the world. Additionally, the Sahel could pack a serious punch in our global fight against climate change. The region has more potential solar energy capacity than anywhere else in the world [15] (onscreen: daily solar radiation levelsof 4-6 kWatt-hour/km2 - twice as much as Europe) and could be a major energy producer in Africa. This would accelerate the region's shift away from fossil fuels, which African nations are becoming increasingly dependent on, as they industrialise. Large scale provision of cheap, clean energy could massively increase Africa's manufacturing output and economy. So, the infamous Made In China sticker may soon read Made in Senegal, Nigeria, or Djibouti. Moreover, as discussed in another previous video, desertification is not a problem localised to Africa, but affects 2/3rds of the world’s surface and around 1 in 4 people [14]. So, if successful, the lessons learned here could act as a blueprint for saving biodiversity and farmland across the globe! Therefore, it's imperative that we spread the news and support projects such as this. You can add your support directly through Tree-aid [16], a charity contributing to the great green wall and building climate resilience in many countries across the Sahel. We will be making an additional donation to Tree-aid this month from our Patreon income, so if you'd like to support OurEden and Tree-aid, please consider joining our patreon community. When completed the Great Green Wall will be one of the largest living structures on the planet, 3 times the size of the great barrier reef [17], and that is something we can all be proud of. So how would you tackle such a project? Let us know in the comments. And as always: Look after yourselves, each other and most importantly, the planet around you. Thanks again, OurEden
I did not know this was what people meant when they spoke about greening the Sahara, I had assumed it was some carbon offset daydream. It’s good to know it’s actually a climate resilience project! It would be cool if African nations could use renewable energy to make socioeconomic change, although I wonder how they can set up a renewable energy industry without finding themselves in a compromised position, as it seems to me that most economic developments in Africa end up as a continuation of neocolonialism.
Considering the amount raised to help this great idea, of all the videos on this subject, i only ever see a hand full of people planting from a poly tunnel or working from a pick up, When in fact it needs a full scale planting and thousands of people to get this done and the back up to look after the seedlings.Come on Africa get in second gear.
This is a wonderful idea! All countries are trying this with their deserts like in India. This is really needed to ensure the survival of not just our kind but the whole world!!
Hmm..I'd use a mix of edible and commercial species native to the region as its core and add in exotics from similar climates to add value. Things like baobab, african olives, oil palms, pistachios, macadamia, pink guavas, banana/plantains, pineapples, pomegranate, tigernuts, groundnuts, grapes and watermelon for example. All 7 layers of the forest would have to incorporated for success though. Canopy, understory, shrub, herb, root, ground cover and vine. Diversity is key.
Typical goofy red hat thinking, the US has enough money to end the homeless problem, Has it done so? NOPE, the US has enough money so there are no hungry kids in the US, Has it done so? NOPE. Just because the US has the money, doesn't mean they will fix anything unless it stands to make more money for the already super wealthy people that just want more.
Video Transcript:
In 2007, these African countries embarked on a momentous challenge: to build a wall across the entire width of Africa! But unlike The Great Wall of China or Trump's wall, this wall is made from trees and grass, and instead of keeping people out, it holds back THE ENTIRE SAHARA DESERT.
Just south of the Sahara is a region called the Sahel, a semi-arid land home to 135 million people [1]. The problem is, climate change is causing the Sahara to expand into the Sahel, at a breakneck pace of up to 48 [2] km (or 525 American football pitches) every year. This creates persistent droughts which at best destroy farms and livelihoods, and at worst cause famines killing hundreds of thousands of people (ref for 1960-1980 drought). To make matters worse, the Sahel’s population is exploding and could reach that of the US, 330 million people, by 2050! The combination of an increasing population and a reducing availability of land and water are creating conflicts, which force young people to migrate to neighbouring countries.
To avoid a humanitarian disaster, the African union launched The Great Green Wall Project. The aim is to plant a green corridor spanning 8,000 km in length and 15 km in width, from Senegal to Djibouti by 2030. For context, that’s more than twice as long as the US-Mexico border and more than 10x the length that Trump was able to add to the border wall [3]. This corridor would become a new world wonder, restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequestering 250 million tons of CO2, and creating 10 million jobs in the process. This could increase climate resilience, helping to prevent catastrophic future famines, and ultimately benefits the entire planet by reducing global average temperatures [4]. The project has already received support from the UNCCD, FAO, AMCEN, UK Botanical Gardens and the World Bank [5, 6].
So, how’s it going?... Project leaders weren’t going into this blind, they learned many lessons from similar desert push-back projects like the Algerian Green Dam and the Green wall of China. Armed with this knowledge, there was a sense of hope in the air... However, the project has struggled to make headway. By 2020, a measly $1 billion had been raised, out of the $30 billion needed [7]. Officially only 4% of the wall has been completed (or around 4 million hectares of trees). But if you consider the wider restoration efforts of independent farmers planting crops and other vegetation, then the progress becomes closer to 15%, with the majority in Ethiopia, Niger, and Eritrea [8, 9, 10, 11]. Either way, the project will have to proceed 20x faster, restoring an additional 8 million hectares per year, to finish by 2030 [12]. Thankfully, in the last two years the Great Green Wall received an additional $20 billion from international organisations, in a final push to finish the project by 2030 [13].
In our first ever video, we discussed the pitfalls of reforestation, by relying on monocultures to cut down costs [14], and the great green wall is certainly in danger of making these mistakes, if sufficient funding is not obtained . However, the evidence shows that by engaging with local communities, scientists have identified desirable tree and grass species which are well adapted to the local environment. This further increases the great green wall’s chances of success, as the tree roots lock soil and water in place, allowing crops and livestock to be farmed in the region and drinking wells to remain plentiful. In fact, in those regions which have already begun work, migration is down, and both school attendance and employment are up [9].
As mentioned, the increasing population and reduction of water and farmable land are creating conflicts, which force young people to leave the Sahel whilst those unable to migrate face the risk of famine. It would be inhumane for the world to allow such a disaster to occur, which is exactly why the great green wall has received support from the UNCCD, FAO, AMCEN and the World Bank [13,15]. But humanitarian sentiment isn’t the only factor motivating foreign interests in the great green wall. Our globalised economy is hyper-sensitive to the happenings across the planet, remember the Evergreen? So aside from the rapid degradation of millions of human lives, the large-scale famine, conflict and migration in the Sahel could cause economic instability across the world. Additionally, the Sahel could pack a serious punch in our global fight against climate change. The region has more potential solar energy capacity than anywhere else in the world [15] (onscreen: daily solar radiation levelsof 4-6 kWatt-hour/km2 - twice as much as Europe) and could be a major energy producer in Africa. This would accelerate the region's shift away from fossil fuels, which African nations are becoming increasingly dependent on, as they industrialise. Large scale provision of cheap, clean energy could massively increase Africa's manufacturing output and economy. So, the infamous Made In China sticker may soon read Made in Senegal, Nigeria, or Djibouti. Moreover, as discussed in another previous video, desertification is not a problem localised to Africa, but affects 2/3rds of the world’s surface and around 1 in 4 people [14]. So, if successful, the lessons learned here could act as a blueprint for saving biodiversity and farmland across the globe! Therefore, it's imperative that we spread the news and support projects such as this.
You can add your support directly through Tree-aid [16], a charity contributing to the great green wall and building climate resilience in many countries across the Sahel. We will be making an additional donation to Tree-aid this month from our Patreon income, so if you'd like to support OurEden and Tree-aid, please consider joining our patreon community.
When completed the Great Green Wall will be one of the largest living structures on the planet, 3 times the size of the great barrier reef [17], and that is something we can all be proud of.
So how would you tackle such a project? Let us know in the comments. And as always:
Look after yourselves, each other and most importantly, the planet around you.
Thanks again,
OurEden
Thank you for the update across the whole of the Great Green Wall. So far I've only heard how Senegal is doing in this project.
Glad to see this. I check back sometimes to look for updates.
It is vital that the Green Wall is built
This is amazing and fascinating... how come only 187 likes? It's projects like this that will save the planet.
I did not know this was what people meant when they spoke about greening the Sahara, I had assumed it was some carbon offset daydream. It’s good to know it’s actually a climate resilience project! It would be cool if African nations could use renewable energy to make socioeconomic change, although I wonder how they can set up a renewable energy industry without finding themselves in a compromised position, as it seems to me that most economic developments in Africa end up as a continuation of neocolonialism.
Considering the amount raised to help this great idea, of all the videos on this subject, i only ever see a hand full of people planting from a poly tunnel or working from a pick up, When in fact it needs a full scale planting and thousands of people to get this done and the back up to look after the seedlings.Come on Africa get in second gear.
This is a wonderful idea! All countries are trying this with their deserts like in India. This is really needed to ensure the survival of not just our kind but the whole world!!
Nice content 🙌
Nice 👍 work
Hmm..I'd use a mix of edible and commercial species native to the region as its core and add in exotics from similar climates to add value. Things like baobab, african olives, oil palms, pistachios, macadamia, pink guavas, banana/plantains, pineapples, pomegranate, tigernuts, groundnuts, grapes and watermelon for example. All 7 layers of the forest would have to incorporated for success though. Canopy, understory, shrub, herb, root, ground cover and vine. Diversity is key.
Thanks
That's very kind of you cidslik, thank you!
Americans also use miles, we don't measure everything in football fields
Ethiopian Green Legacy Eludes you all! Why?
The sad thing is the US has sent enough money to Ukraine to pay for this project many times over.
Typical goofy red hat thinking, the US has enough money to end the homeless problem, Has it done so? NOPE, the US has enough money so there are no hungry kids in the US, Has it done so? NOPE. Just because the US has the money, doesn't mean they will fix anything unless it stands to make more money for the already super wealthy people that just want more.
The United states isn't the world's baby daddy. The rest of the world needs to support themselves.
Will never happen