Senegal’s Great Green Wall

31 December 2009

The President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, was at the UN’s climate conference in Copenhagen earlier this month to draw attention to the planned Green Wall which is hoped will halt the spread of the Sahara.

The 9.3 mile wide wall of trees will stretch for 4,350 miles across 11 countries, but despite approval by the African Union in 2007, to date only 326 miles of the wall have been planted - all in Senegal. Patrick Gonzalez of the University of Califonia, Berkeley’s Center for Forestry, explained how trees can act as a barrier to encroaching deserts as they act as natural windbreaks against sandstorms and their roots improve soil health, particularly by preventing erosion. It is essential however, to ensure the right tree species as previous schemes have failed when foreign species failed to survive in the harsh desert conditions.

Read more about the plans – visit National Geographic.