Leaders in the Sahel-Saharan region backed the idea of a cross-Sahel “Green Wall” to address desertification and drought. This early political support helped move the concept from a national idea toward a coordinated, multi-country initiative.
At the African Union’s eighth summit in Addis Ababa, member states adopted decisions that included moving forward on a “Green Wall for the Sahara” initiative. This positioned the effort as a continental priority connected to climate and development concerns.
In 2007, the African Union launched the Great Green Wall as a response to desertification, drought, and climate change impacts in the Sahel. The idea began as a tree-planting “wall,” but it increasingly emphasized restoring whole landscapes—farms, rangelands, and forests—along with livelihoods.
Participating countries established a coordinating agency to support cross-border planning and implementation of the Great Green Wall. Creating a dedicated institution helped shift the initiative from a broad political pledge toward programs that countries could manage and finance.
African environment ministers adopted a harmonized regional strategy to better coordinate how the Great Green Wall is implemented across countries. This step aimed to align national plans, clarify priorities, and encourage a broader restoration approach beyond a single line of trees.
The European Union and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization launched a major program to restore drylands and strengthen sustainable land management, explicitly building on the Great Green Wall. The program supported community-based restoration and income activities in several Great Green Wall countries.
African countries and partners launched AFR100, a continent-wide effort to bring 100 million hectares of degraded land into restoration by 2030. While broader than the Sahel-focused Great Green Wall, AFR100 helped build political momentum, partnerships, and tools that also support Sahel restoration programs.
On September 7, 2020, the UNCCD released a major status report reviewing Great Green Wall results from 2007–2018. It estimated close to 20 million hectares restored and highlighted the gap to the 2030 target, helping governments and donors focus on clearer priorities and stronger coordination.
At the One Planet Summit in Paris, partners announced over US$14 billion in new funding and launched the Great Green Wall Accelerator (2021–2025). The accelerator was designed to better coordinate finance and implementation so projects could scale faster and deliver results toward 2030 goals.
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) began in June 2021, aiming to scale up restoration worldwide. This created a larger global framework that reinforced the Great Green Wall as a flagship restoration effort linked to climate resilience and livelihoods.
UNCCD COP15 met in Abidjan from May 9–20, 2022 with a strong focus on drought, land restoration, and resilience. The conference raised the visibility of Sahel restoration needs and reinforced the argument that land restoration is central to food security and stability.
Stakeholders met in Addis Ababa (November 6–10, 2023) for a week of workshops and coordination on Great Green Wall progress. The meetings included discussion of a draft continental framework strategy, reflecting a push to improve alignment between country programs and partner support.
A high-level meeting in Addis Ababa (May 13–15, 2025) brought together the African Union and partners to review Great Green Wall progress and discuss next steps. The emphasis on financing and coordination reflected ongoing efforts to convert pledges and plans into sustained restoration outcomes.
The Great Green Wall’s widely cited 2030 targets—restoring 100 million hectares, creating 10 million green jobs, and sequestering large amounts of carbon—serve as the main benchmark for success. By 2030, progress will be judged not only by trees planted, but by durable restoration, improved livelihoods, and better resilience to drought and climate shocks.
Great Green Wall Initiative and Sahelian Restoration Efforts (2007–present)