Climate Action: Restoring Degraded Land in This African Country

The West African country of Mali is set to benefit from massive investment to restore degraded land caused by climate change, thus contributing to the success of the Great Green Wall initiative to stop and reverse the Sahara’s desertification.

The International Development Association, a subsidiary of the World Bank, is allocating $150 million to the Degraded Land Restoration Project to restore 400,000 hectares of land, benefiting 2.3 million people.

The government of Mali is adamant about allocating funding to the restoration of degraded land in 87 councils over the regions of Mopti, Segou, Kayes, and Koulikoro. The inland delta of the River Niger – the largest wetland in West Africa – which spans over 64,000 km2, is included in the project. Funds will also cover the establishment of agro-sylvo-pastoral farms to be integrated into communities and the development of non-timber forest products. NTFPs – also known as non-wood forest products or secondary forest products – are goods of biological origin other than wood, such as game animals for fur, fish, fruits, seeds, spices, mushrooms, leaves, medicinal plants, and peat. The project covers land most affected by the desertification of the Sahara, and its implementation contributes to Mali’s efforts to make the Great Green Wall a success.