The current context in the Sahel-Saharan Band is clearly dominated by recurrent issues of desertification, land degradation and climate change.

The acuteness and the importance of these challenges and their impacts on ecosystems, communities, and local populations in terms of sustainable management of natural resources, adaptation and resilience to climate change, socio-economic development of soils, as well as management of migratory flows and securing Sahelian lands remain at
the heart of the concerns of Sahel-Saharan states and particularly those south of the Sahara. This difficult and persistent situation in the Sahel amply justifies the priority that African leaders and the entire international community attach to the effective and efficient management of these challenges in the Sahel-Saharan band (SSB). By creating the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI), the Heads of State and Government of the South Sahara countries, who are among the hardest hit by this situation, have echoed the distress call of the Sahelian band population and their local communities’ soils and the international community call. It is a matter of creating and implementing a strong and united African alliance through the Great Green Wall Initiative to tackle climate and environmental challenges together. The GGWI is the demonstration of leadership, change in basic assumptions and strategies of approach of the Sahel-Saharan band states to face the environmental and climatic and socio-economic development issues. It is also the result of a new concept and an innovative instrument for the sustainable management of natural capital,adaptation, and resilience to climate change of communities and local populations through regional cooperation built on the principles of solidarity and cooperation of
actions. It is also a model for integrated development and local governance of Sahel soils. To seal and strengthen this alliance and to demonstrate their commitment to the proper implementation of the GGW Initiative, the Heads of State and Government of the Sahelo-Saharan States, based on the GGWI created on June 17th, 2010, under the auspices of the African Union, the Pan African Agency of the Great Green Wall to ensure the coordination and monitoring of achievements as well as the mobilization of necessary resources.

The GGWI draws its substance and vision from the major international issues of the United Nations Framework Conventions on Desertification, Climate Change, Biodiversity, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2063 African Union Agenda. It is consistent with regional, sub-regional, national, and local initiatives and policies in this area and integrates the sociological and anthropological realities, the basic socio-economic needs of communities and local populations as well as the economic potential of the soils.
The GGW Initiative concerns the entire geographical fringe of the Circum-Sahara which ranges between the 100 and 400 mm isohyets of average rainfall. It is currently implemented in eleven (11) Sahel-Saharan countries of the Sahel band
from the South of the Sahara in the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.

The Global Harmonized Strategy (GHS) for its implementation is the result of the consolidation of the National Strategies of the States participating to the GGW Initiative and included in the coherence frameworks of national sectoral policies and strategies. The sequential approach of the technical itinerary is based on a five-year plan established since 2011, through the 2011-2015 and 2016-2020 strategies.

This book entitled «Great Green Wall Initiative: Achievements from 2011 to 2017 and Challenges to the 2030 path», follows the two books published on the GGWI by Dia and Duponnois in 2011 and 2013 on the Great Green Wall. Its objective is to be a reference to better understand the Initiative, including the GGW concept and its relevance, the African vision, the multisectoral, holistic and ecosystem aspects and sequential approach. It also allows us to better understand the important steps taken towards the translation of the GGWI vision into tangible realities and positive impacts on ecosystems, communities, and local populations of the soils. It outlines the institutional achievements of the PAGGW and the main achievements in terms of key operational activities of SLM and Community Development and the analysis of
their ecological impacts and economic development in the areas of the GGW route.

The book describes and analyzes country by country on the one hand, the main achievements with socio-economic impacts in terms of the fight against poverty and malnutrition, job creation, wealth generation and strengthening of social cohesion and on the other hand, the planned constraints, and solutions.

CHAPTER I GGWI CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE MANAGEMENT 222
CHAPTER II GGWI CONTRIBUTION TO FIGHT AGAINST DESERTIFICATION 227
CHAPTER III GGWI CONTRIBUTION TO THE CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY 230
CHAPTER IV CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES 234
CHAPTER V GGWI CONTRIBUTION TO SOIL SECURITY AND MIGRATION FLOW MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER VI RESOURCES MOBILZATION ON IMPLEMENTING THE RIO CONVENTIONS AND SDGS 241
CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES 245