The Sahel region has one of the highest levels of multidimensional poverty in the world, with low indicators for health, education, and standard of living, and is characterized by one of the most challenging biophysical environments on the planet. The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative (GGW), a pan-African program with a strong reforestation focus, is the latest and most ambitious of these development programs to date. Endorsed by the African Union in 2007 as a game-changer in Africa’s drylands, the initiative aims to transform the lives of millions of people on the frontline of climate change by growing an 8000km new world wonder across the entire width of the African continent, from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East.  

At implementation level of this GGW initiative, its wide geographic coverage, harsh environment conditions for restoration, lack of suitable integrated restoration technology, complex of meeting multiple targets compose great challenges. Meanwhile, China has accumulated rich experiences on desertification prevention and control, both in terms of on-the-ground implementation and applied research. 

At the 3rd session of the Pan African Agency on the Great Green Wall Summit in 2015, a team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS) were invited to share China`s restoration experiences. It was during this Summit` Ministerial Dialogue that the cooperation with China was listed as a GGW priority, based on the consensus that China`s experiences and technology are applicable to Africa. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 2017. 

• To understand desertification process, driving mechanism and status in key areas of Great Green Wall in Africa
• Develop applied green belt technology for sand fixation, sustainable livelihoods and ecosystem restoration of different ecosystem types.

• One database on desertification process, driving mechanism and status of key GGW areas
• Three sets of technologies for quick sand rapid fixation, forest green-belt for eco-protection and livelihoods, degraded grassland restoration for multi-benefits.  
• One restoration demonstration site for GGW in the Sahel region.
• One knowledge product of GGW case studies with recommended ecosystem sustainable management technology.  
• One policy brief for enhance GGW implementation. 

This project is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China under its joint programme with the United Nations Environment Programme. It is led by Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, CAS, together with UNEP-IEMP, Mauritania national Agency of Great Green Wall Initiative, African Desertification Control Initiative, Nigeria, Oromia Pastoral area development Commission of Ethiopia, and Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS.

For more information, please contact: Ms Guoqin Wang, Guoqin.wang@unep-iemp.org