The Saharan Forest
Yep. You read that right. If things go right, that may be the new name for the Sahara desert in the coming decades. The Sahara, which is presently the “largest hot desert in the world” may not retain the title for long. Why?
It all goes back to the 1950s when British explorer Richard St. Barbe Baker made an expedition in the Sahara. He proposed an idea, a “Green front” to act as a 50 km deep tree buffer to contain the desert from expanding.
Although the idea was not picked up at the time, it re-emerged in 2002 at a summit in N’Djamena, Chad on the occasion of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. Slowly, the idea gained momentum and was approved by the Conference of Leaders and Heads of States members of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States and lastly, by the African Union itself.
The initiative was named ‘Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative’ (or GGWSSI).
Several such initiatives to contain deserts have been undertaken in the past around the world, such as the “Algerian Green Dam” and the “Green Wall of China”. These initiatives were studied and an integrated multi-sectoral approach was taken. The project, which was originally a tree planting initiative now evolved into a development programming tool. It was being directed as a project to tackle the social, economic, and environmental impacts of land degradation and desertification.
The project encompasses the Saharan strip, north and south borders, including Saharan oases and enclaves. The project costs $8 billion and intends to restore 100 million hectares (1 million km²) of degraded land by 2030. This would create 350,000 rural jobs and absorb 250 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide. If the project is completed on time, it would also absorb the fast-growing population of the Sahel region, which is expected to double by 2039.
As of 2019, 15 per cent of the green wall has been completed with significant tree plantations in Nigeria, Senegal, and Ethiopia. Over 5.5 billion seedlings have been planted in Ethiopia, achieving the most success.
The eco-friendly search engine Ecosia has also been working with the local population in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Senegal since 2014. It has planted almost 22 million trees covering 149 km².
Despite the progress, the project has received some backlash. Critics claimed the project had little funding and had no scientific basis suggesting it would work. According to Chris Reij, a sustainable land management specialist and senior fellow at the World Resources Institute who has been working in Africa since 1978,
If all the trees that had been planted in the Sahara since the early 1980s had survived, it would look like Amazonia. Essentially 80 percent or more of planted trees have died.
If the Great Green Wall of Sahara is completed, there are plans to re-forest areas of the Sahara desert. This means that in a few decades the geography of Northern Africa could vastly change, also creating opportunities and paving a way for faster development in the continent.
