But as temperatures rose and rainfall diminished, millions of the planted trees died. Efforts to rein in the desert continue in Senegal on a smaller scale.
The project started in 2007. Pic/AP
The idea was striking in its ambition: African countries aimed to plant trees in a nearly 5,000-mile line spanning the entire continent, creating a natural barrier to hold back the Sahara Desert as climate change swept the sands south.
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The project called the Great Green Wall began in 2007 with a vision for the trees to extend like a belt across the vast Sahel region, from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east, by 2030. But as temperatures rose and rainfall diminished, millions of the planted trees died. Efforts to rein in the desert continue in Senegal on a smaller scale.
Only four per cent of the Great Green Wall’s original goal has been met, and an estimated $43 billion would be needed to achieve the rest. With prospects for completing the barrier on time dim, organisers have shifted their focus from planting a wall of trees to trying a mosaic of smaller, more durable projects to stop desertification and improve lives of the community.
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