$78 million to heal the Sahel: 270,000 hectares of worn land to be restored across nine countries

The Global Environment Facility has committed $78 million to Africa's Great Green Wall — the drive to halt desert creep across the Sahel — with UNEP running eight of the ten projects. Nine countries, from Senegal to Ethiopia, will restore more than 270,000 hectares of degraded farmland, woodland and wetlands, and the programme aims to improve livelihoods for 5 million people, more than half of them women. With co-financing from the Green Climate Fund, IFAD and FAO, total resources top $500 million. In Mali alone, 150,000 hectares are set for regeneration; in the Gambia, wetland restoration should benefit nearly 800,000 people.