The Stream

Can the ‘Great Green Wall’ fight climate change in Africa?

Initiative aims to combat spread of Sahara Desert and re-green Africa’s Sahel region.

On Tuesday, September 17 at 19:30 GMT: 
The Great Green Wall” is an ambitious African-led initiative to grow an 8,000-kilometre forest across the entire width of Africa’s Sahel. The project, which started in 2007, aims to combat the spread of the Sahara Desert and improve the state of one of the world’s poorest regions.

More than a decade into the project, the Great Green Wall is about 15 percent complete. Those involved in the process believe land restoration can help improve food security, provide jobs and, ultimately, stem migration.

In this episode, we’ll learn about the relationship between climate change and desertification and check in on the progress and challenges involved in restoring once degraded lands.

 

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:

 

Inna Modja @Innamodja
Narrator of the Great Green Wall documentary
innamodja.com

 

Elvis Paul Tangem @tangem2009
Coordinator of the Great Green Wall Initiative for Sahara and Sahel, African Union Commission
greatgreenwall.org

 

Dr. Musonda Mumba @MumbaMusondam
Environmentalist and ecologist
musondamumba.com

Read more:
Can a 4,815-Mile Wall of Trees Help Curb Climate Change in Africa? – TIME

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