Check out
these oddities
and curiosities
from around
the world!
THE GREAT GREEN WALL
A plan to change the barren
landscape across the width of
Africa seems far-fetched but
it is real, and it has achieved
some success. It's called the
Great Green Wall and is an
expanse of land approximate
30 miles wide and 4,350 miles
long. 21 countries participate in
the project that stretches from
Senegal in the west to Djibouti
in the east.
It all started about 10 years
ago when African nations met
to discuss the growing threat of
deserts moving down from the
north, growing and spreading.
Many of these countries have
long been plagued by drought,
violence, climate change and
food insecurity. The Sahel
region on the southern edge
of the Sahara Desert was one
of the most devasted areas on
earth.
So the idea was hatched to
transform this barren landscape
with an area of trees, where
plants and crops could grow,
animals graze and people could
live on the land harvesting the
crops. But where and how to
start? There was no science that
said it could work. Land with
no trees will not hold soil that
turns to sand and blows away in
the wind.
Chris Reij, a land management
specialist working with the
World Resource Institute, was
given the task of solving this
problem. He met with little
success until one time, flying
over the intended course of
the wall, he looked down to
see fertile, green areas. He
discovered that local farmers
had developed a solution first
introduced earlier by Tony
Rinando, an Australian with
Serving in Mission who had
worked in the area with local
people. Word of mouth spread
the idea of protecting any
remaining trees or stumps until
they sprouted and creating
water harvesting practices.
No one knew of the success
because previously, no one had
looked.
To date over 5 million trees
have been planted in Burkino
Faso and 11 million in Senegal.
Nigeria has restored 12 million
acres and Ethiopia 37 million
acres.
15% of the wall has been
completed. There's much more
to do but if they can achieve
success, this Great Green Wall
will create jobs and food for
millions of people and also help
save the earth by absorbing
CO2 from the atmosphere.
18 • Off icialKidsMag.com • NOVEMBER 2019
