Why Accelerating Ecosystem Restoration In The Sahel Must Be A Priority This Decade
Publication year
Resource type
UNCCD Library
Material Type
Web resource
Why must accelerating ecosystem restoration in the Sahel be a priority?
The short answer: because it is a critical part of the actions needed for realising ample sustainable development opportunities in the Sahel, benefitting the growing Sahelian population and creating new markets for urgently needed regenerative businesses that are climate- and nature-positive.
The slightly longer answer goes like this:
The Sahel is a paradox of sustainable development challenges and opportunities.
On the one hand, about 30% of the Sahelian population is in need of urgent humanitarian aid as the region is struggling with a challenging security and conflict situation. The region is also grappling with significant social and ecological vulnerability to climate change and an expected doubling of the population by 2050.
In that context, meeting the Sustainable Development Goals – including food and nutritional security, poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods – is as challenging as it is necessary.
On the other hand, the Sahel is a region of enormous opportunities. The region is blessed with immense solar power potential – both utility scale and off-grid solar – and has a rich endowment of natural resources. With 64.5% of the population below age 25, the region is also one of the most youthful in the world, which means that investment in education and training can yield an important demographic dividend for the Sahel. One of the Sahel’s biggest opportunities, however, lies in the restoration of degraded lands and the development of climate-smart agriculture and pastoral systems. That is why leading initiatives such as the Africa Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative and the Great Green Wall Initiative have set the goal of restoring 100m hectares of land by 2030.
Read further from the source above
The short answer: because it is a critical part of the actions needed for realising ample sustainable development opportunities in the Sahel, benefitting the growing Sahelian population and creating new markets for urgently needed regenerative businesses that are climate- and nature-positive.
The slightly longer answer goes like this:
The Sahel is a paradox of sustainable development challenges and opportunities.
On the one hand, about 30% of the Sahelian population is in need of urgent humanitarian aid as the region is struggling with a challenging security and conflict situation. The region is also grappling with significant social and ecological vulnerability to climate change and an expected doubling of the population by 2050.
In that context, meeting the Sustainable Development Goals – including food and nutritional security, poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods – is as challenging as it is necessary.
On the other hand, the Sahel is a region of enormous opportunities. The region is blessed with immense solar power potential – both utility scale and off-grid solar – and has a rich endowment of natural resources. With 64.5% of the population below age 25, the region is also one of the most youthful in the world, which means that investment in education and training can yield an important demographic dividend for the Sahel. One of the Sahel’s biggest opportunities, however, lies in the restoration of degraded lands and the development of climate-smart agriculture and pastoral systems. That is why leading initiatives such as the Africa Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative and the Great Green Wall Initiative have set the goal of restoring 100m hectares of land by 2030.
Read further from the source above
Keywords
Great Green Wall (GGW)
Sahel
farming practices
ecosystems restoration
security threats
private sector
Documents