KEY POINTS
• A $78 million GEF grant will support land restoration and livelihood improvement across nine African countries.
• The programme targets more than 270,000 hectares of degraded land and five million people.
• UNEP will implement eight of the 10 projects, while BOAD will implement two.
MAIN STORY
The United Nations and its development partners have launched a $78 million programme to restore degraded land and expand livelihood opportunities for five million people across Africa’s Great Green Wall.
The grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is expected to strengthen the Great Green Wall Initiative by supporting projects across nine countries affected by land degradation, drought and climate vulnerability.
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the investment will help restore more than 270,000 hectares of degraded land across the participating countries.
The programme brings together Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal, alongside UNEP, the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Pan African Agency of the Great Green Wall.
UNEP will implement eight of the programme’s 10 projects and coordinate delivery across the participating countries, while BOAD will implement the remaining two projects.
The new funding is expected to take total pooled resources supporting the programme beyond $500 million when combined with financing provided by other partners.
The initiative is focused on restoring degraded landscapes while improving economic opportunities for communities facing pressure from worsening environmental and livelihood conditions.
More than half of the people expected to benefit from the programme are women, according to UNEP.
The Great Green Wall is a major African environmental initiative focused on restoring degraded landscapes across the Sahel while strengthening food security and resilience in communities affected by environmental pressures.
The latest investment comes as desertification, drought and climate change continue to place pressure on agricultural livelihoods across the region.
For Nigeria, the programme has particular relevance because the country is among the nine African states participating in the initiative.
THE ISSUES
- Land degradation threatens agricultural productivity and the livelihoods of communities that depend heavily on land for farming and other economic activities. Restoring degraded areas is therefore linked not only to environmental protection but also to household incomes and food production.
- The scale of the programme means implementation across the nine participating countries will be important to its impact. UNEP is taking responsibility for eight projects and regional coordination, while BOAD will implement two.
- The focus on women is significant because they make up more than half of the programme’s expected beneficiaries. This means the livelihood component of the intervention will extend beyond environmental restoration to economic opportunities for vulnerable communities.
- The programme combines funding from the GEF with co financing from other partners, taking total pooled resources above $500 million. Its effectiveness will depend on how successfully the resources are translated into land restoration and improved livelihoods on the ground.
WHAT’S NEXT
UNEP will implement eight projects and coordinate regional delivery across the nine participating countries, while BOAD will oversee two projects. The programme will target the restoration of more than 270,000 hectares of degraded land and livelihood support for five million people.
BOTTOM LINE
The $78 million GEF grant provides fresh funding for efforts to restore degraded land and support communities across the Great Green Wall region. Nigeria is among the nine countries covered by the programme, making its implementation relevant to communities facing land degradation and climate related livelihood pressures.
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