The African Union (an organization that fosters interaction between countries on the continent), together with organizations which include the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank, started building the Great Green Wall in Africa 15 years ago. The project’s goal is to reforest the region that stretches over an area of eight thousand kilometers (slightly more than the distance between São Paulo in Brazil and New York in the United States) from east to west on the continent. However, a study published by the UN on April 27th showed that only 4% to 20% of the reforestation has actually occurred. Additionally, no progress has been made in the last two years.

The delay in construction is mostly due to the lack of funds for the project. Of the 30 billion dollars (about 154 billion reais) that the UN estimates are needed to build the wall, only 19 billion dollars have already been raised by African governments and international donors. For researchers, the main reason for the lack of funds is the pandemic, which led nations to decrease their commitment to the proposal.

Other Challenges

According to another report published in 2021 by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the USA, the project also faces other obstacles. One of them is that most international donors have negotiated directly with African governments rather than with the African Union. In practice, this makes it more di_ cult for the Union to determine where funding is coming from and where it is going.

Another issue is that, in some regions, plantations are not benefi ting those who are most vulnerable, as the initial plan envisaged. The study shows, for example, that part of the reforested land has been privatized (i.e. it is no longer public, so it can no longer be accessed by everyone) and that women are not being hired to work on the construction of the wall. The goal is for the wall to be concluded by 2030 and that it be the largest living construction in the world. To learn more about the project and how it benefi ts the environment, check out Joca140.

Sources: Nature, UN, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and The Great Green Wall

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