The Sahara Desert covers 3.5 million square miles of central Africa. It’s the world’s largest desert—and it’s growing. It grew 10 percent over the past 100 years because of climate change. As global temperatures have risen, the desert has expanded, and sandy dunes have overtaken 250 million acres of farmland. This has resulted in food shortages, poverty, migration to other countries, and even increased violent conflicts in the area.
Back in 2007, 11 African countries made a pact to fight the desert. Residents from Senegal to Djibouti would create something that became known as the Great Green Wall: A wall of trees stretching across the width of sub-Saharan Africa. The hope is that the massive band of forest will stop the growing desert.
“The Great Green Wall is regarded as North Africa’s contribution to the global fight against climate change,” says Chris Reij, an expert in sustainable land practices at the World Resources Institute.
The Sahara Desert covers 3.5 million square miles of central Africa. It’s the world’s largest desert—and it’s getting even bigger. It grew by 10 percent over the past 100 years. The main reason: climate change. As global temperatures have risen, more of central Africa has dried out and turned into desert. Sand dunes have overtaken farmland. This has caused food shortages, poverty, migration to other countries, and even violent conflicts in the area.
Back in 2007, 11 African countries made a pact to fight the desert. Their residents would work together to create a wall of trees stretching across sub-Saharan Africa. The project came to be known as the Great Green Wall. The hope is that the massive band of forest will stop the growing desert.
“The Great Green Wall is regarded as North Africa’s contribution to the global fight against climate change,” says Chris Reij. He’s a specialist in sustainable land practices at the World Resources Institute.