The Great Wall Of Africa

ByForest Machine Magazine

13 January, 2025

The great wall of Africa will stretch across 22 countries, cost £26 billion and will be over 4,000 miles long

Image; Getty

The Great wall of Africa project aims to halt the expansion of the Sahara Desert by planting a wall of trees stretching across the entire African continent.

The Sahara’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 and was initially conceived as a way to combat desertification in the Sahel region and slow the expansion of the Sahara Desert. 

This project involves the planting of a giant wall of trees – stretching across the entire Sahel, over 22 countries from Djibouti’s capital of the same name to Dakar in Senegal

The original dimensions of the wall of trees was to be nine miles wide and a colossal 4,831 miles long, but the program expanded to include nations in both northern and western Africa. 

The goal of this ambitious project is to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land and capture 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, and create 10 million jobs in the process by 2030.

The project is in 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. 

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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. 

Forest Machine Magazine is written and edited by a forest professional with over 40 years hands on experience. We are dedicated to keeping you informed with all the latest news, views and reviews from our industry.

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