The Great Green Wall – Africa’s Game Changer

A massive tree planting project in the Sahara aims to turn the desert into a forest. Other regions have similar ideas.

• Africa’s Great Green Wall initiative is a proposed 8.000-kilometer line of trees meant to hold back the Sahara from expanding. By 2030, the project aims to plant 100 million hectares of trees.
• Led by the African Union, the project launched in 2007 and is now roughly 15 percent complete. It is deemed a huge ecological success.
• Proponents hope the completed tree line, extending from Senegal to Djibouti, will also bring food security and jobs to the region.
• Giant tree-planting endeavors are globally on the rise. For many environmentalists they are an important contribution to fighting climate change.
• There is also criticism however. Some experts are concerned intensive tree planting could amount to geoengineering – having unforeseen impacts on regional climate.