Image credit: UNCCD. – Photo: 2019
caroline mwanga
NEW YORK (IDN) – Prominent leaders from the business, politics, media, film and music industries gathered in New York on September 22 to shine a spotlight on the 8,000-kilometer Great Green Wall, a natural wonder of the world spanning the entire width of the African continent, as a practical, low-cost, nature-based solution to the global climate emergency. They urgently called on governments, civil society and businesses to join a growing global movement to make the Great Wall a reality by 2030.
An African-led movement, The Wall aims to promote climate-smart solutions and restore life to degraded landscapes to provide food security, jobs and new economic prosperity to communities living in Africa’s Sahel region. An estimated 15% of the wall is already under construction.
The Sahel region, where the Great Wall of China is taking root, is a political hotspot. Nearly 80% of the region’s land is degraded, 33 million people are currently food insecure, and temperatures are expected to rise by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius by 2050. The most pressing challenges humanity will face this century, from food and water scarcity to climate change, drought, migration and international terrorism, are already evident in the region.
Globally, 3 in 4 hectares of land has already been altered from its natural state, and nearly 1 million species are on the path to extinction.
The Great Wall of China is often seen as a green belt that stretches across Africa from Dakar to Djibouti. But it’s more than that. It is a people-centered movement that seeks to restore the health of the Sahel’s ecosystems and natural resources to build drought resilience, strengthen food security, and empower the communities who live here to generate new and sustainable sources of income.
The Great Wall of China was established 10 years ago by the African Union with the support of a number of partners including the UNCCD, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility and the European Commission.
The September 22nd event also featured musical performances by Songhoy Blues, Waje and Grammy Award-winning artist Ricky Kay, as well as a clip from the upcoming feature-length documentary The Great Green Wall, directed by Jared P. Scott, produced by MAKE Waves in partnership with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
The event was convened by UNCCD Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw, co-hosted by UNCCD and World Bank Group Connect4Climate, and headed by Jürgen Vogele, Global Director of the World Bank Climate Change Group.
“The Great Wall of China is a truly inspiring initiative, fostering urgent solutions in the face of the 21st century’s greatest challenges,” Thiau said.
“We are pleased to support the Great Wall of China. It is a great example of how we can fight poverty by restoring degraded land through climate-smart practices,” said Jürgen Vogele, Global Director for Climate Change at the World Bank Group.
Jim Pisani, Timberland’s Global Brand President, added, “As a brand committed to a better future for our planet, Timberland is proud to join the Great Wall Movement, which we believe is critical to supporting local communities on the front lines of the global climate emergency and building a more sustainable and just future.”
Timberland’s support of the Great Green Wall is part of the brand’s commitment to plant 50 million trees worldwide by 2025. (IDN-InDepthNews – September 23, 2019)
Image credit: UNCCD.
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