Page 50 - Bulletin, Vol.83 No.1, April 2024

A few years after planting, an improvement in biodiversity was observed in both flora
and fauna, with the return of certain wild animals (foxes, ostriches and various birds).

Rainwater retention basins have also been created for livestock watering, as well as
circular gardens (designed in the shape of concentric circles to improve water retention
and the work of bacteria, fungi and micro/macro organisms in the soil).
In Senegal, given human activities, only 45% of the territory needs to be reforested.
Nevertheless, in November 2015, approximately 340,000 hectares remained to be
restored. At the current rate of 5,000 hectares reforested per year, it looks as if it will
14
take another ten years or so to get there .
In September 2021, the AFD (French Development Agency) estimated that 20 million
hectares were restored and 350,000 jobs created. The United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification estimates that only 15% of the Wall has been completed, mainly
in Senegal and Ethiopia, the only countries that have really given any importance to the
project. Not all 11 countries, which had pledged 10% of their GDP to agriculture, have
been consistent. Countries singled out for criticism endured conflict and insecurity in the
Sahel (five of the eleven countries involved have suffered coups d’état or civil war).

Second wind

Nevertheless, The Great Green Wall had a second wind in 2021, with the One Planet
Summit. "There was an international mobilisation with commitments of 19 billion
dollars", says Sandra Rullière. The World Bank and the European Union are at the
forefront. France has put €600 million on the table for the period 2021-2025. The
Agence Française pour le Développement (AFD) is responsible for allocating this
funding to the projects.

Despite this new impetus, the entire wall has not yet been financed. "We need much
more than has been announced. We cannot just think in terms of external
funding. We need to mobilise governments, public banks, the private sector and
local authorities", says Sandra Rullière of the AFD. One of the challenges is also to
create spaces for dialogue so that local populations can agree on the conditions of
access to water, land and other resources.

In January 2023, without turning a blind eye to the stagnation of the process, Ivorian
politician Alain-Richard Donwahi, president of the Cop 15 against desertification,
encouraged the continuation of the wall, in the newspaper "La Tribune": "Since the
stakes of this Great Green Wall are global, the actors already involved in its
realisation now need broader support to pass a milestone. The One Planet
Summit in Paris opened up a new way forward. It was no longer just an ecological
project, but a broader project for the Sahel, including economic and security
issues".
Translated with DEEPL
Revised by Monika Spyczak von Brzezinska

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 83 No.1, 2024-04 49

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