How Africa's Great Green Wall is Solving an Ancient Conflict
Solutions:
The Great Green Wall in the Sahel area of Africa is leading to some great ends.
With the Sahara Desert growing South of its normal regions, a UN/World Food Program started planting trees & half moon garden ponds to restore a better ecosystem.
But, the early part of this project led to some problems due to a desperate grab at the remaining resources - as herder animals overgrazed on newly growing crops.
Luckily, the UN personnel came up with a solution: an agreement to create good will & cooperation - thru shared benefits.
Special ditches were dug to serve as a border between herders & farmers.
Both sides honored the new border, allowing the farmers' sprouts to grow to their full potential.
Corridors were made, leading to large pastoral ponds that only the herders could use.
And controlled grazing helped fertilize the farm soils.
Using land reclamation techniques, in two years more resources were created & the abundant animal fodder was sold to the herders.
But, the benefits didn't stop there.
The improved landscape cleared the sand from the air, built seed banks for new plantings, replenished the local water tables & the mature sites began to support fish ponds - leading to more protein being available...
Best of all, it inspired new confidence & cooperation - even stabilizing the local society & culture.
Both groups now coexist & rely on each other - trading seed & grain for milk & meat.
So how was all this accomplished?
The Great Green Wall project creates half-moon pools, planting acacias (a fast growing thorny shrub & tree) known as 'pioneer' plants.
As grass grows, insects & birds start coming back, performing their natural roles.
The water percolates down into the shallow water table, moving down- stream to moisten more land.
It creates wetlands & stores up enough of itself to survive the long dry season.
This causes it to spread further along the region, watering underground seeds that sprout new greenery.
In time, the abundance of water allows for more mature food production - in large fish ponds which self fertilize new water plants & a more diversified food system.
Protein which benefits the locality well.
But, the full 'conclusion' of the Great Green Wall still lies in the future - if it can truly stop the Sahara's continued growth...
Never the End!!
