<\/p>\n
The commitment was announced during a high-level event on scaling up the Great Green Wall through continental integration and implementation of the African Union (AU) Great Green Wall Strategy and Ten-Year Implementation Framework (2024-2034). The strategy, adopted by the AU in 2024, aims to transform the initiative into a continent-wide platform for land restoration, biodiversity protection and climate resilience.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Launched by the AU in 2007, the Great Green Wall was initially conceived as an ambitious effort spanning 11 Sahel countries. The initiative seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, create 10 million green jobs and sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon by 2030.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the initiative was founded on the principle of “one vision, one Africa”, placing equal importance on people and landscapes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mohammed acknowledged that climate change and conflict have complicated implementation but pointed to progress in countries including Senegal, Chad and Djibouti as evidence that the initiative can deliver meaningful results.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mohammed urged governments and development partners to recommit to implementation efforts, increase investment and place women and young people at the centre of the programme.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mali Minister of Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development Doumbia Mariam Tangara, speaking on behalf of the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall, said the initiative represents an opportunity to establish Africa’s leading platform for nature-based solutions while generating environmental, social and economic benefits.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UN Convention to Combat Desertification Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad highlighted the programme’s flexibility and ability to adapt to different national circumstances. “There is no one size fits all,” Fouad said, noting that the initiative continues to evolve with support from the AU, AfDB and other development partners.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AU Commission Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment Moses Vilakati said Africa must move beyond commitments and focus on implementation. “Africa’s Great Green Wall is ready to move from ambition to investment and from investment to impact,” Vilakati said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Vilakati said the continent has lost 163 million hectares of land to degradation since 2015 and noted that the initiative faces a financing gap of about $14 billion to achieve its 2030 targets.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
AfDB Manager for Agriculture Research, Production and Sustainability Laoauli Garba, representing AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah, welcomed the AU’s new strategy and said it provides an opportunity to accelerate implementation across the continent.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Earlier during COP17’s Finance Day Ministerial Dialogue, AfDB announced plans to mobilise $500 million between 2027 and 2031 through the Ecosystem Restoration in the Zambezi River Basin programme alongside the Global Environment Facility, Climate Investment Funds, Green Climate Fund and eight participating countries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The programme aims to improve the resilience of 2.8 million people, restore 300 000 hectares of degraded land and create 40 000 jobs for women and young people across the basin. “Every hectare restored means a more productive asset, stronger food security, new opportunities for women and young people, and more resilient communities,” Garba said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“That is why the AfDB sees the Great Green Wall as an investment in Africa’s economic future.”<\/p>\n
International Fund for Agricultural Development Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division Director Juan Carlos Mendoza said accelerating implementation would require countries to convert commitments into bankable projects, use risk-sharing mechanisms to unlock finance and develop programmes that create sustainable economic opportunities while delivering measurable development outcomes.<\/p>\n
–AfDB\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44016,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-44015","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"African Development Bank (AfDB) has pledged to work with partners to mobilise additional financing for the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI), as African leaders, development institutions and international organisations called for accelerated investment in land restoration and climate resilience at United Nations (UN) Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP17 in Mongolia.","published_date":"","news_description":"African Development Bank (AfDB) has pledged to work with partners to mobilise additional financing for the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI), as African leaders, development institutions and international organisations called for accelerated investment in land restoration and climate resilience at United Nations (UN) Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP17 in Mongolia.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44017,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44015\/revisions\/44017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=44015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}