Great Green Wall Implementation Status and Way Ahead to 2030: press briefing

2 September 2020
Media advisory

The Great Green Wall Implementation Status and Way Ahead to 2030, the first comprehensive assessment of the status of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative (GGW) will be released on Monday, 7 September 2020 at a virtual ministerial meeting. In preparation for the event, and the press conference to be held immediately after the launch, the UNCCD secretariat is hosting a press briefing. The briefing will be conducted in English and French. Pre-registration is required. Embargoed documentation will be shared only with pre-registered journalists.

When:
Monday, 31 August 2020 at 15:00hrs Central European Time (13:00hrs UTC/GMT)

Where:
Virtual Webinar: Register here.

Who:
   Prof. Abdoulaye Dia (TBC)
   Executive Secretary
   Pan African Agency of the Great Green Wall Project

   Mr. Louis Perroy
   Partner
   Climatekos (report author)

   Ms. Inna Moja
   Lead Actor, Great Green Wall Film, UNCCD Land Ambassador
   Musician

   Fernando Meirelles (TBC)
   Producer
   Great Green Wall

Moderator: Ms. Louise Baker
Managing Director
Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

Background
The Great Green Wall Implementation Status and Way Ahead to 2030 provides an overview of the progress made by countries to create a 15km wide and 8,000 km long green corridor stretching across Africa from Senegal to Djibouti.

The report, prepared by an independent firm, Climatekos, will be released on Monday, 7 September 2020 at a virtual Ministerial meeting of the Member States of the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall. Technical and financial partners will also participate. A virtual press conference with ministers to the share outcomes of the plans on the way forward will take place immediately following the ministerial meeting.

The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel (GGW) reflects the will and commitment of the Heads of State and Government of the Sahelo-Saharan States to unite their efforts to tackle the challenges of climate change, land degradation, and loss of biodiversity. GGW was created in 2005 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso during the Cen-Sad Summit. The African Union endorsed it in 2007.

Notes to Editors
Registered journalists will have access to the two publications below in English or French.
1) Embargoed press release
2) Embargoed copy of the background note

A pre-registration link will be circulated later for the virtual press conference to be held with the ministers on Monday, 7 September, for the report launch.

For media information, contact: wwischnewski [at] unccd.int (wwischnewski[at]unccd[dot]int) or kjimenez [at] unccd.int (kjimenez[at]unccd[dot]int)
About the Great Green Wall, contact: cnordheim [at] unccd.int (cnordheim[at]unccd[dot]int)

About the Great Green Wall
An African-led initiative to transform the lives of 100 million of the poorest people on Earth by growing an 8,000 km corridor of trees and plants that will restore land, produce food, create jobs and promote peace.

About the UNCCD
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is an international agreement on good land stewardship. Through partnerships, the Convention’s 197 Parties set up robust systems to manage land degradation and drought promptly and effectively. Good land stewardship based on a sound policy and science helps integrate and accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, builds resilience to climate change and prevents biodiversity loss. Land also plays a key role in the prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, securing rural livelihoods and creating green jobs, supporting community resilience and maintaining the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services.