To thwart the southward spread of the Sahara desert Senegalese officials are proposing to build a wall of trees that would stretch from Senegal to Djibouti as part of a plan.
To thwart the southward spread of the Sahara desert Senegalese officials are proposing to build a wall of trees that would stretch from Senegal to Djibouti as part of a plan.
The trees are meant "to stop the advancement of the desert," Senegalese president and project leader Abdoulaye Wade told National Geographic News during UN's Copenhagen climate conference.
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Crops have died and soils have eroded, crippling local agriculture.
If the trend continues, the UN forecasts that two-thirds of Africa's farmland may be swallowed by Saharan sands by 2025.
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That's because stands of trees act as natural windbreaks against sandstorms, and their roots improve soil health, especially by preventing erosion.
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"Similar tree-planting efforts by outside agencies have failed, in part because they planted foreign species that soon perished in the harsh desert," he added.
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All 11 countries that would house the Great Green Wall have pledged to help fund the project.
The lush channel through the desert would help farmers already displaced by drought-and may even stem the exodus of "environmental refugees," according to the organizers.
More than 70 percent of Africa's poor depends on farming, according to the IPCC.
But, drought, desertification, and other climate-related disasters are forcing many farmers to abandon their lands, spurring a heavier flow of immigrants out of central and North Africa.
The 9.3-mile-wide (15-kilometer-wide) wall of trees would improve the surrounding, now-degraded soils, allowing farmers to again grow crops and more easily raise livestock in the region.
Senegal also plans to dig rainwater reservoirs along its portion of the wall-virtual lifesavers in a region where rain falls only three months out of the year.
The gigantic tree barrier would also trap some atmospheric carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, and produce a refuge for native animals and plants.
Source-ANI
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