Putting local pastoralists at the heart of restoration
At the westerly end of the vision of Africa’s Great Green Wall is the Ferlo zone in the Sahelian region. Desertification here is bringing hunger and drought, driving migration and disrupting education.
WeForest and its partners are putting pastoralist communities at the heart of restoration in an innovative partnership. Phase 1 will see 1000 ha restored using proven restoration techniques and combined with experimental plots to identify and measure improved techniques for consistent survival rates and cost-effective scale-up.
The global Great Green Wall movement was launched in 2007 with the ambition to grow 8000 km of forest across the width of Africa, reversing the spreading desertification that brings hunger and drought, drives migration and disrupts education. Despite over a decade of action, there has been slow progress.
Over the next ten years we aim to restore and regreen 10 000 hectares with local communities at the heart of restoration: identifying restoration zones, managing nurseries and monitoring survival. 15 native species will boost incomes from non-timber forest products and increase the availability of fodder in the long dry season.
By mobilizing the communities, the project addresses the interrelated issues of poverty, food insecurity,
land degradation and biodiversity loss. With its combination of field work and research, the project will also develop a toolbox of best practices across the Sahel to ensure restoration success in the long term.
Sahelian zone of Senegal
Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontière (AVSF), Pôle Pastoralisme zone sèche (PPZS), ISRA, CIRAD
Sclerocarya birrea, Balanites aegyptiaca, Combretum glutinosum, Acacia seyal, Adansonia digitata, Acacia nilotica
The communities of Labgar, Younouféré and Vélingara Pastoral Units
See which solution is right for you and get started today.
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