Building the resilience of people and natural systems in order to tackle desertification and land degradation in the Sahara and Sahel will require more partnerships and greater investment.

A 2-day forum run by the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has discussed how to extend the efforts of the Great Green Wall initiative to address the social, economic and environmental impacts of land degradation, desertification, drought and climate change.

An estimated 40 per cent of Africa’s land resources are currently degraded, which in many cases has led to poverty, hunger, unemployment, forced migration, conflict and security issues.

“Bold coordinated action and more investments in sustainable land management are needed to boost food production, help people adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects, support biodiversity, enhance businesses based on land resources and contribute to a green economy,” says a press release issued by the forum organizers.

Sustainable land management projects already underway have demonstrated that food security can be boosted, livelihoods improved and greater resilience achieved. These include the rehabilitation of over 5 million hectares of land in Niger through farmer-managed natural regeneration, the planting of 11 million trees in Senegal and the restoration of 50,000 hectares of agroforestry systems in Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal. The latter has seen native trees and shrubs boosting the production of crops, gums and resins, and providing fodder for livestock.

Expanding such practices through the Great Green Wall initiative will rely on the formation of additional partnerships to help governments mobilize the technical and financial resources that are required.

Read the full story: Africa’s Great Green Wall reaches out to new partners