Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio k brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, Africa is on its way to completing the next World Wonder, a nearly five thousand mile or eight thousand kilometer belt of greenery and conservation initiatives covering the continent's entire width. This lofty goal, The
Great Green Wall, is not a pr stunt. It's an African lad movement designed to breathe life into the degraded landscapes across the Sahel, which is the vast semi arid region of Africa separating the Sahara Desert to the north and the tropical savannahs to the south. This area is experiencing a slew of ecological crises due to overgrazing, drought, and poor farming practices, and desertification here is on the rise.
The Sahara Desert is expanding. Study published in the May issue of the Journal of Climate shows that it's grown ten percent since ninety The ambitious Great Green Wall, which will be Earth's largest living structure once complete, is designed to save this a hell from ecological implosion and to make those changes sustainable. The Great Green Wall project, kickstarted
by the African Union in two thousand seven. Was initially designed to build a string of trees across the continent to curb desertification, helping the hell communities survive and thrive. But there were some issues early on. First and foremost, the science behind tree planting as the sole solution wasn't fully there. Many of the first planted trees died, which is when leaders acknowledged that it was time to change course. The Great Green Wall team analyzed indigenous land use techniques
and adapted their methodology accordingly. From there, the project evolved from a wall of trees to more of a continent wide movement of mosaic of projects combating land degradation, desertification, and drought based unproven indigenous practices. In some cases, that's tree planting, which the Great Green Wall largely hires locals to do. For other land stretches, it's indigenous adaptations for agriculture or simply growing grass. In other cases, it's a
mix of all of the above. This re greening is truly transformational for both the land and the local people. The Great Green Wall is roughly fifteen complete, with millions of trees planted and aspirations to quote restore two hundred forty seven million acres or a hundred million hectares of currently degraded land, sequester two d and fifty million tons of carbon, and create ten million jobs in rural areas by according to the Great Green Wall website. Another equally
impressive outcome the Pan African camaraderie and leadership. The initiatives started out with the loving countries, but now has over twenty, making it a truly Pan African program. Each country created its own national action plan for implementation, which ensures each nation has ownership instead of being told what to do by outsiders. This puts power and potential for progress back
in the hands of those most affected. So far, the project has created some three hundred and fifty thousand jobs and generated over ninety million dollars in revenue across the countries that host the Great Green Wall. Some of the best Great Green Wall outcomes so far have been in Nigeria, Senegal, Burkina Fasso, and Ethiopia. Rikina Fasso has seventeen million new trees, while twelve million acres or four point eight million hectares of degraded land in Nigeria are now restored. With Senegal
and Ethiopia seeing similar success. One Elvis Paul to hang them. The African Union Commissioner for the Sahara and Sahel Great Green Wall Initiative, said, the Great Green Wall is about development. It's about sustainable climate, smart development at all levels. Each of the thirty countries developed national action plans. That is the bast achievement because now they own it. It's about ownership and that has been the failure of Development AID
because people were never identified with it. But this time they identify this is our thing. But considering that the total project is triple the size of the Great Barrier Reef, it's inevitable that the Great Green Wall has faced some challenges. The goals do vary from country to country, complicating implementation, and like many conservation projects before it, funding is another hindrance.
Countries like Senegal spend two hundred million per year on planting and eco care, but other nations can't afford similar investments. We spoke via email with Chris mcgarrow, program officer for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. He said within most of the country's investments in dry lands remain a challenge based on the misconception that dry lands are wastelands.
This view is rapidly changing as dry lands continue to be recognized for their richness in bio diverse the productivity, especially of livestock, and provision of other ecosystem services, including water. According to its latest status report, the program needs to restore over twenty million acres or eight million hectares of land every year, plus invest an annual four point three
billion dollars for the hopeful twenty thirty completion. This goal is lofty given that the Great Green Wall has restored only roughly forty billion acres or twenty million hectares of land from two thousand seven to but leaders remain optimistic. In a press release, Abraham t O, Executive Secretary to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, said, the Great Green Wall is yielding immediate benefits for the local communities
and long term ecosystem benefits At the international level. It shows that when countries dare to dream, work together and make the right choices, we can prosper and live in harmony with nature, and where innovative ideas emerge, pause of dramatic change that benefits both the local and international communities will happen. Today's episode was written by Stephanie Vermillion and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other green topics, visit how stuff works dot com.
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