Restoration approaches:

• Direct planting
• Enrichment planting
• Assisted Natural Regeneration

Goals:

• Demonstrate cost efficient and scalable restoration techniques in the Great Green Wall
• Empower local communities to restore and reforest
• Increase vegetation and forest cover. The carrying capacity of this ecosystem is estimated at 200 trees per hectare
• Increase ground-level and underground water reserves, and improve soil fertility
• Protect the habitat of the red-fronted gazelle, golden jackal, spotted hyena, red-necked ostrich and the previously extinct in Senegal scimitar-horned oryx

Discover more on WeForest’s website

Why is intervention needed?

The African-led Great Green Wall movement was launched in 2007 with the ambition to grow 8000 km of forest across the entire width of Africa. Communities here are seeing first-hand the devastating effects of climate change: spreading desertification that brings hunger and drought, driving migration and disrupting education. The aim of the GGW movement is to reverse these effects, yet despite over a decade of action, there has been slow progress.

Ecological restoration

The first phase (2022-2024) will regreen over 900ha in three pastoral units using proven techniques, establishing experimental plots over 72 hectares to test techniques for optimizing survival rates across different rainfall gradients.

Who benefits?

The restoration will be carried out through a participatory process with local communities, who will be instrumental in identifying appropriate species, developing a forest seed collection protocol involving members of pastoral units, creating community-managed seed nurseries, and supporting local governance structures to manage restoration sites. The project will strengthen the resilience of pastoral communities through improved food security for families and increased incomes from non-timber forest products and grass fodder for livestock.