Preventing Desertification With a Wall of Trees

"The 'Great Green Wall' will involve several stretches of trees from Mauritania in the west to Djibouti in the east, to protect the semi-arid savannah region of the Sahel - and its agricultural land - from desertification."

"A plan for the proposed US$3 million, two-year initial phase of the project - involving a belt of trees 7,000 kilometres long and 15 kilometres wide - was formally adopted at the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (Cen-Sad) summit on rural development and food security in Cotonou, Benin, last month (17-18 June)."

"North African nations have been promoting the idea of a Green Belt since 2005 (see African nations agree to boost desert research). The project has been scaled down to reinforce and then expand on existing efforts, and will not be a continent-wide wall of trees, despite the name of the project."

"The Green Wall will involve two planting projects on the east and west sides of Africa."