A green barrier could be the only defense against the marching sand dunes of the Sahara. It is a fact that trees are the best cure for soil erosion, soil shifting and water retention. Eleven African nations are now looking towards tree plantations to protect the little arable lands they have against impeding desertification. The planned wall of trees would extend from Senegal to Djibouti. The 9.3-mile-wide (15-kilometer-wide) wall of trees would benefit the farmers by preserving their farms and also making it easier for them to raise livestock.
UN forecasts say that two-thirds of Africa’s farmland may be swallowed by Saharan sands by 2025. Climate change has been severe and the fallout has been a lack of rain. Less rain has meant drier soils and shrinkage in vegetation. Soil erosion and desertification soon followed. This has in turn led to abandonment of traditional cultivable fields and migration away from Central and North Africa. In a continent where 70 percent, mostly poor, depend on farming…that’s a serious concern.
The wall of trees to protect the cultivable land that’s left and also to turn back the clock was first mooted by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005. It was approved by the African Union in 2007. All eleven countries have pledged the funds necessary for the green barrier.
What’s critical of course is choosing the right species to populate the green zone. Previous experiences have shown that what’s local is what’s best for any forestation program. Local know-how needs to be tapped for the ambitious project. For instance, ‘natural regeneration’ is what’s practiced by inhabitants of the Sahel (people in the semi-arid savanna on the Sahara’s southern border) by planting small native trees from seeds found in the region and raising the trees in agricultural fields protected from nibbling livestock.
Also, this could act as a CO2 trapping zone and a produce a new eco-system for plants and animals. The eco-system could in turn serve as a revenue channel if some trees like the native acacia senegal tree are used or commercial cultivation of gum Arabic. Gum Arabic goes into cosmetics and soft drinks.
The success of this ambitious project will hinge on the co-operation of the African States involved. Hopefully diplomatic barrier will come down and the green one will be raised up.
Image: geoftheref
