Hope of a Continent: The Great Green Wall

While desertification is rapidly increasing worldwide due to global climate change, especially in the African continent, this situation leads to the loss of agricultural lands, the decrease in biodiversity and food security problems with the expansion of the Sahara Desert. In order to prevent the spread of the Sahara Desert southwards against these threats, a "Great Green Wall Project" that will cut off the entire continent with trees and shrubs is almost the only hope for the future of the continent.

The Great Green Wall Project aims to create a 15 km wide and approximately 8,000 km long afforestation line from west to east of Africa, while creating an ecosystem by preventing desert dust from engulfing and advancing on the continent's green areas at the southern border of the Sahara Desert, and contributing to the social and economic development of the peoples of Central Africa.

The countries included in the project include Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, which are already threatened by the Sahara Desert because they border it.

Since the project was launched in 2007, millions of acacias, baobabs, fruit trees, grasses and shrubs have been planted, and significant successes have been achieved in Senegal and Ethiopia, such as regenerating soil and protecting ecosystems and water resources. However, the biggest challenges facing the Great Green Wall Project are lack of funding, political instability and adverse climatic conditions.

The Great Green Wall is not the only example of combating desertification; China, which started later but achieved greater success, is also trying to stop the threat of desertification coming from the North and East with green walls.