Bringing hope to Africa’s Sahel through the Great Green Wall Initiative
In support of the GGW initiative, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is executing a project titled ‘closing the gaps in the Great Green Wall’, which is funded by GEF and implemented by UN Environment, in 11 countries. The project is already bringing relief to communities in the Sahel and Djibouti is one great example.
Photo: Ibrahim Thiaw
Photo: Ibrahim Thiaw
By Chris Magero and Abdoulfatah Abdourahman Arab
The Sahel spans over 7 million square kilometers across 11 countries with an estimated population of close to 135 million people who are largely dependent on livestock and crop farming. Land degradation is however undermining the wellbeing and productivity of the population. Much of land degradation in the Sahel is stemming from poor land management practices coupled with extreme climatic factors which cause drought and floods, negatively impacting on Sahelian livelihoods.
The Great Green Wall (GGW) - Sahara Sahel Initiative is a pan-African initiative that arose with a vision of working together with multiple stakeholders including governments, civil society organizations and private sector to restore tackle poverty, desertification and land degradation in the Sahel region
In support of the GGW initiative, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is executing a project titled ‘closing the gaps in the Great Green Wall’, which is funded by GEF and implemented by UN Environment, in 11 countries. The project which focuses on strengthening the participation of stakeholders including pastoralist and local communities and mobilization of investments to enable large scale sustainable land management across the Sahel is already bringing relief to communities in the Sahel.
Great strides in restoring landscapes in Djibouti
Djibouti is a country on the east coast of Africa with a land surface area of approximately 23,300 Km2 and a population of 800,000 people. 17% of Djibouti’s land area is documented to be undergoing some degradation largely driven by agricultural expansion and climate change. This has far reaching consequences on the agro pastoralist communities and threatens to undermine their progress towards achieving the SDGs.
Since 2017, the country has rolled out 3 multi-sectoral projects focusing on land restoration, conservation and sustainable management of natural resources and facilitation of sustainable access to microfinancing. By 2018, the country had managed to restore 100 hectares of land with more areas under consideration for restoration through reforestation.
Djibouti’s investment in the Great Green Wall is among the key strategies of responding to these challenges at the national level
In Bara plains (Djibouti), investments in water security have secured an average income of USD 1400 per household for communities involved in agro-pastoralism. A water storage reservoir constructed in Kourtimaley is providing multiple benefits to communities including securing water for people and livestock in the dry season, providing irrigation water for agro-pastoral production.
Innovations through Nature Based Solutions
“Despite the great commitment by countries and progress made towards the Great Green Wall, challenges such as persistent land degradation, lack of a common framework to monitor progress across the Sahel countries and lack of effective participation of GGW stakeholders among others need to be addressed. Land restoration in drylands countries such as Djibouti needs a multifaceted response from all sectors and investment in infrastructure and markets,” says Chris Magero, Programme Officer for the Global Ecosystems Management Programme at IUCN
“Interventions in the Sahel should seek to address these gaps by coming up with innovations around sustainable land management, market access and livelihood development, through the application of Nature Based Solution,” added Chris.
"Kupitia mpango wa ""Great Green Wall"" (GGW), Umoja wa Kimataifa wa Uhifadhi wa Asili (IUCN) unafanya kazi ya ""kufunga mapengo katika ukuta mkubwa wa kijani"" (Closing the gaps in the Great Green Wall) katika nchi 11." Mradi huo tayari unaleta misaada kwa jamii za Sahel na Djibouti ni mfano mmoja mzuri. "Kutokana na taarifa ya ""Sahel"" iliyochapishwa na Chris Magero na Abdulfattah Abdurahman, ""Sahel"" ni eneo la kilomita za mraba milioni 7 katika nchi 11 na idadi ya watu karibu milioni 135 ambao hutegemea sana ufugaji wa mifugo na mazao." Hata hivyo, uharibifu wa ardhi unadhoofisha hali nzuri ya maisha na uzalishaji wa watu. Uharibifu mkubwa wa ardhi katika Sahel unatokana na mazoea mabaya ya usimamizi wa ardhi pamoja na sababu za hali ya hewa kali ambazo husababisha ukame na mafuriko, na kuathiri vibaya maisha ya Sahelians. "Mtazamo wa ""The Great Green Wall"" ni mpango wa Afrika nzima ambao unajumuisha serikali, mashirika ya kiraia na sekta binafsi ili kukabiliana na umaskini, ukame na uharibifu wa ardhi katika eneo la Sahel, na Umoja wa Kimataifa wa Uhifadhi wa Asili (IUCN) unafanya kazi ya ""kufunga mapengo katika mazingira ya ukuta wa kijani kibichi"" katika nchi 11." Mradi huo, ambao unazingatia kuimarisha ushiriki wa wadau, pamoja na wafugaji na jamii za mitaa, na kuhamasisha uwekezaji ili kuwezesha usimamizi endelevu wa ardhi kwa kiwango kikubwa katika Sahel, tayari unaleta misaada kwa jamii za Sahel. Djibouti ni nchi ya pwani ya mashariki ya Afrika na eneo la ardhi la karibu 23,300 km2 na idadi ya watu 800,000 Kwa mujibu wa ripoti ya JPMorgan, asilimia 17 ya ardhi ya Djibouti imeharibika kwa sababu ya mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa na maendeleo ya kilimo. Hii ina matokeo makubwa kwa jamii za wakulima wa kilimo na inatishia kudhoofisha maendeleo yao kuelekea kufikia SDGs. Tangu 2017, nchi hiyo imezindua miradi mitatu ya sekta nyingi inayozingatia kurudisha ardhi, uhifadhi na usimamizi endelevu wa rasilimali za asili na kuwezesha upatikanaji endelevu wa fedha ndogo. Kufikia mwaka 2018, nchi hiyo ilikuwa imeweza kurudisha hekta 100 za ardhi na maeneo zaidi yanazingatiwa kwa ajili ya kurudishwa kupitia ukarabati wa misitu. Uwekezaji wa Djibouti katika ukuta mkubwa wa kijani ni moja ya mikakati muhimu ya kukabiliana na changamoto hizi katika ngazi ya kitaifa. katika Bara Plains (Djibouti), uwekezaji katika usalama wa maji umehakikisha wastani wa mapato ya dola za Marekani 1400 kwa kila familia kwa jamii zinazohusika katika kilimo-pastoralism. Hifadhi ya maji iliyojengwa huko Kourtimale inatoa faida nyingi kwa jamii, ikiwa ni pamoja na kupata maji kwa watu na mifugo katika msimu wa ukame, kutoa maji ya umwagiliaji kwa uzalishaji wa kilimo na ufugaji. "Kupitia uvumbuzi kupitia suluhisho za asili, ""Licha ya kujitolea kubwa na maendeleo yaliyofanywa na nchi kuelekea ukuta mkubwa wa kijani kibichi, changamoto kama vile uharibifu wa ardhi unaoendelea, ukosefu wa mfumo wa kawaida wa kufuatilia maendeleo katika nchi za Sahel na ukosefu wa ushiriki wa ufanisi wa wadau wa GGW, kati ya wengine, wanahitaji kushughulikiwa." "Kupunguza uharibifu wa ardhi katika nchi kavu kama vile Djibouti inahitaji majibu ya nyanja zote na uwekezaji katika miundombinu na masoko, ""alisema Chris Magero, Mkurugenzi wa Programu ya Usimamizi wa Ecosystems ya Dunia katika IUCN."