WEBVTT - How Does the Great Green Wall Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio k

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, Africa is on its way

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<v Speaker 1>to completing the next World Wonder, a nearly five thousand

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<v Speaker 1>mile or eight thousand kilometer belt of greenery and conservation

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<v Speaker 1>initiatives covering the continent's entire width. This lofty goal, The

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<v Speaker 1>Great Green Wall, is not a pr stunt. It's an

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<v Speaker 1>African lad movement designed to breathe life into the degraded

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<v Speaker 1>landscapes across the Sahel, which is the vast semi arid

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<v Speaker 1>region of Africa separating the Sahara Desert to the north

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<v Speaker 1>and the tropical savannahs to the south. This area is

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<v Speaker 1>experiencing a slew of ecological crises due to overgrazing, drought,

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<v Speaker 1>and poor farming practices, and desertification here is on the rise.

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<v Speaker 1>The Sahara Desert is expanding. Study published in the May

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<v Speaker 1>issue of the Journal of Climate shows that it's grown

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<v Speaker 1>ten percent since ninety The ambitious Great Green Wall, which

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<v Speaker 1>will be Earth's largest living structure once complete, is designed

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<v Speaker 1>to save this a hell from ecological implosion and to

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<v Speaker 1>make those changes sustainable. The Great Green Wall project, kickstarted

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<v Speaker 1>by the African Union in two thousand seven. Was initially

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<v Speaker 1>designed to build a string of trees across the continent

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<v Speaker 1>to curb desertification, helping the hell communities survive and thrive.

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<v Speaker 1>But there were some issues early on. First and foremost,

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<v Speaker 1>the science behind tree planting as the sole solution wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>fully there. Many of the first planted trees died, which

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<v Speaker 1>is when leaders acknowledged that it was time to change course.

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<v Speaker 1>The Great Green Wall team analyzed indigenous land use techniques

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<v Speaker 1>and adapted their methodology accordingly. From there, the project evolved

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<v Speaker 1>from a wall of trees to more of a continent

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<v Speaker 1>wide movement of mosaic of projects combating land degradation, desertification,

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<v Speaker 1>and drought based unproven indigenous practices. In some cases, that's

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<v Speaker 1>tree planting, which the Great Green Wall largely hires locals

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<v Speaker 1>to do. For other land stretches, it's indigenous adaptations for

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<v Speaker 1>agriculture or simply growing grass. In other cases, it's a

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<v Speaker 1>mix of all of the above. This re greening is

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<v Speaker 1>truly transformational for both the land and the local people.

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<v Speaker 1>The Great Green Wall is roughly fifteen complete, with millions

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<v Speaker 1>of trees planted and aspirations to quote restore two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>forty seven million acres or a hundred million hectares of

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<v Speaker 1>currently degraded land, sequester two d and fifty million tons

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<v Speaker 1>of carbon, and create ten million jobs in rural areas

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<v Speaker 1>by according to the Great Green Wall website. Another equally

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<v Speaker 1>impressive outcome the Pan African camaraderie and leadership. The initiatives

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<v Speaker 1>started out with the loving countries, but now has over twenty,

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<v Speaker 1>making it a truly Pan African program. Each country created

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<v Speaker 1>its own national action plan for implementation, which ensures each

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<v Speaker 1>nation has ownership instead of being told what to do

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<v Speaker 1>by outsiders. This puts power and potential for progress back

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<v Speaker 1>in the hands of those most affected. So far, the

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<v Speaker 1>project has created some three hundred and fifty thousand jobs

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<v Speaker 1>and generated over ninety million dollars in revenue across the

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<v Speaker 1>countries that host the Great Green Wall. Some of the

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<v Speaker 1>best Great Green Wall outcomes so far have been in Nigeria, Senegal,

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<v Speaker 1>Burkina Fasso, and Ethiopia. Rikina Fasso has seventeen million new trees,

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<v Speaker 1>while twelve million acres or four point eight million hectares

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<v Speaker 1>of degraded land in Nigeria are now restored. With Senegal

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<v Speaker 1>and Ethiopia seeing similar success. One Elvis Paul to hang them.

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<v Speaker 1>The African Union Commissioner for the Sahara and Sahel Great

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<v Speaker 1>Green Wall Initiative, said, the Great Green Wall is about development.

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<v Speaker 1>It's about sustainable climate, smart development at all levels. Each

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<v Speaker 1>of the thirty countries developed national action plans. That is

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<v Speaker 1>the bast achievement because now they own it. It's about

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<v Speaker 1>ownership and that has been the failure of Development AID

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<v Speaker 1>because people were never identified with it. But this time

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<v Speaker 1>they identify this is our thing. But considering that the

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<v Speaker 1>total project is triple the size of the Great Barrier Reef,

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<v Speaker 1>it's inevitable that the Great Green Wall has faced some challenges.

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<v Speaker 1>The goals do vary from country to country, complicating implementation,

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<v Speaker 1>and like many conservation projects before it, funding is another hindrance.

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<v Speaker 1>Countries like Senegal spend two hundred million per year on

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<v Speaker 1>planting and eco care, but other nations can't afford similar investments.

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<v Speaker 1>We spoke via email with Chris mcgarrow, program officer for

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<v Speaker 1>the International Union for Conservation of Nature. He said within

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<v Speaker 1>most of the country's investments in dry lands remain a

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<v Speaker 1>challenge based on the misconception that dry lands are wastelands.

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<v Speaker 1>This view is rapidly changing as dry lands continue to

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<v Speaker 1>be recognized for their richness in bio diverse the productivity,

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<v Speaker 1>especially of livestock, and provision of other ecosystem services, including water.

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<v Speaker 1>According to its latest status report, the program needs to

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<v Speaker 1>restore over twenty million acres or eight million hectares of

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<v Speaker 1>land every year, plus invest an annual four point three

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<v Speaker 1>billion dollars for the hopeful twenty thirty completion. This goal

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<v Speaker 1>is lofty given that the Great Green Wall has restored

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<v Speaker 1>only roughly forty billion acres or twenty million hectares of

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<v Speaker 1>land from two thousand seven to but leaders remain optimistic.

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<v Speaker 1>In a press release, Abraham t O, Executive Secretary to

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<v Speaker 1>the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, said, the Great

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<v Speaker 1>Green Wall is yielding immediate benefits for the local communities

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<v Speaker 1>and long term ecosystem benefits At the international level. It

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<v Speaker 1>shows that when countries dare to dream, work together and

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<v Speaker 1>make the right choices, we can prosper and live in

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<v Speaker 1>harmony with nature, and where innovative ideas emerge, pause of

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<v Speaker 1>dramatic change that benefits both the local and international communities

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<v Speaker 1>will happen. Today's episode was written by Stephanie Vermillion and

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots

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<v Speaker 1>of other green topics, visit how stuff works dot com.

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