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Increasing the Effectiveness of the “Great Green Wall” as an Adaptation to the Effects of Climate Change and Desertification in the Sahel

Author

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  • David O'Connor

    (Redpath Museum, McGill University, 859 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC H3A 0C4, Canada)

  • James Ford

    (Department of Geography, McGill University, 805 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC H3A 0C4, Canada)

Abstract

The Great Green Wall (GGW) has been advocated as a means of reducing desertification in the Sahel through the planting of a broad continuous band of trees from Senegal to Djibouti. Initially proposed in the 1980s, the plan has received renewed impetus in light of the potential of climate change to accelerate desertification, although the implementation has been lacking in all but two of 11 countries in the region. In this paper, we argue that the GGW needs modifying if it is to be effective, obtain the support of local communities and leverage international support. Specifically, we propose a shift from planting trees in the GGW to utilizing shrubs (e.g., Leptospermum scoparium , Boscia senegalensis , Grewia flava , Euclea undulata or Diospyros lycioides ), which would have multiple benefits, including having a faster growth rate and proving the basis for silvo-pastoral livelihoods based on bee-keeping and honey production.

Suggested Citation

  • David O'Connor & James Ford, 2014. "Increasing the Effectiveness of the “Great Green Wall” as an Adaptation to the Effects of Climate Change and Desertification in the Sahel," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-13, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:10:p:7142-7154:d:41240
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Laurent Bruckmann & Jean-Luc Chotte & Robin Duponnois & Maud Loireau & Benjamin Sultan, 2022. "Accelerate the Mobilization of African and International Scientific Expertise to Boost Interdisciplinary Research for the Success of the Sahelian Great Green Wall by 2030," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-15, October.
    2. Beatrice Asenso Barnieh & Li Jia & Massimo Menenti & Jie Zhou & Yelong Zeng, 2020. "Mapping Land Use Land Cover Transitions at Different Spatiotemporal Scales in West Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-52, October.
    3. Stephen Fox, 2019. "Moveable Production Systems for Sustainable Development and Trade: Limitations, Opportunities and Barriers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, September.

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