Action plan for 'Great Green Wall' validated
The Great Green Wall initiative will help restore and sustainably manage land in the dry land areas of Africa to meet the dual challenges of combatting ecosystem degradation and poverty and building resilience to climate change.
Dr Lala Razafy Fara, the coordinator for the SADC Green Wall, said this at the national action plan validation workshop for the implementation of the Great Green Wall initiative in southern Africa.
The Great Green Wall is an African partnership aimed at halting and reversing trends in land degradation, desertification, climate change and loss of biodiversity, especially in the arid regions of Africa, through a coherent and common set of interventions.
"The Great Green Wall initiative is implemented through innovative approaches that ensure food security and diversification of income in the context of conservation of biological diversity and ecosystem restoration," Fara said.
Coherent interventions
She said the Namibia national action plan (NAP) was prepared by a national consultant supported by the coordinator of the Great Green Wall initiative in addition to other stakeholders.
Assistant Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in Namibia, Ferdinard Mwapopi, said this important African initiative seeks to implement a coherent and common set of interventions across Africa.
The FAO, in close collaboration with the SADC Secretariat, is providing technical support to SADC members, including Namibia, in designing and implementing the regional strategy for the implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative, he said.
He said Namibia’s national action plan is a significant step towards kick-starting the initiative.
Data paves the way
The support and coordination of continental-scale data collection in collaboration with the AU and the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall involved regional and national institutions from over 30 countries, Mwapopi noted.
The data collection was conducted between 2018 and 2020 and has provided valuable information on various parameters related to the biophysical environment, agriculture and land use.
Data on the percentage of restorable land and potential carbon gross gain has been instrumental in informing investment decisions for land restoration, carbon storage programmes, forest landscape restoration, and other interventions, he explained.
Dr Lala Razafy Fara, the coordinator for the SADC Green Wall, said this at the national action plan validation workshop for the implementation of the Great Green Wall initiative in southern Africa.
The Great Green Wall is an African partnership aimed at halting and reversing trends in land degradation, desertification, climate change and loss of biodiversity, especially in the arid regions of Africa, through a coherent and common set of interventions.
"The Great Green Wall initiative is implemented through innovative approaches that ensure food security and diversification of income in the context of conservation of biological diversity and ecosystem restoration," Fara said.
Coherent interventions
She said the Namibia national action plan (NAP) was prepared by a national consultant supported by the coordinator of the Great Green Wall initiative in addition to other stakeholders.
Assistant Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in Namibia, Ferdinard Mwapopi, said this important African initiative seeks to implement a coherent and common set of interventions across Africa.
The FAO, in close collaboration with the SADC Secretariat, is providing technical support to SADC members, including Namibia, in designing and implementing the regional strategy for the implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative, he said.
He said Namibia’s national action plan is a significant step towards kick-starting the initiative.
Data paves the way
The support and coordination of continental-scale data collection in collaboration with the AU and the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall involved regional and national institutions from over 30 countries, Mwapopi noted.
The data collection was conducted between 2018 and 2020 and has provided valuable information on various parameters related to the biophysical environment, agriculture and land use.
Data on the percentage of restorable land and potential carbon gross gain has been instrumental in informing investment decisions for land restoration, carbon storage programmes, forest landscape restoration, and other interventions, he explained.
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