UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed says more than 20 million hectares of land have been restored through efforts associated with Africa’s Great Green Wall initiative and related programmes.
Mohammed disclosed this at a high-level meeting of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, describing the Great Green Wall as a strong example of African-led solutions to land degradation, drought and declining livelihoods.
She said the initiative had evolved from its original concept of planting a line of trees across the Sahel into a broader strategy linking land restoration with food production, employment and economic opportunities. She noted that about five million hectares had been regenerated by farmers in Niger.
Mohammed said restoring degraded land could help communities affected by drought, poverty and insecurity, particularly in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin. While acknowledging that land restoration alone could not end conflicts, she said it could restore livelihoods and create opportunities that support peace and stability.
The UN official warned that up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, affecting food production and livelihoods, while droughts have become more frequent and longer since 2000. She said as many as three in four people could be affected by drought by 2050.
Mohammed called for stronger and more predictable financing for national land restoration and drought resilience plans. She urged governments to integrate land and drought resilience into development and fiscal planning while exploring financing tools such as green bonds and drought insurance.
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