Sahel Desertification

The Sahel of North Africa is a semi-arid transition region between the Sahara desert to the Northern and wetter regions of middle Africa near the equator. This area stretches from the Atlantic ocean in the west to the Indian ocean in the east. The Sahel of North Africa has undergone extreme environmental changes over the past eleven thousand years. Due to the extreme climatic changes and social conflict that is prevalent in that region, Sahel has drawn the attention of the global community. The Sahel region has fallen victim to desertification. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid, and dry sub humid areas. Desertification is caused by human activities and extreme climate variations. This region has a high variability of rainfall and has experienced extreme periods of rain followed by extreme periods of drought at intervals of 1,500 years plus or minus 500 years. Recently these changes have correlated with the changes in ocean temperatures in the north Atlantic ocean. In addition poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing, and bad irrigation practice can damage the land's fertility. In addition to these environmental factors, humans have made a substantial impact on the desertification of the Sahel. One of the biggest general impacts has
This has been an issue that has concerned not just local communities, but the global community. The idea has gained traction and support by the global community since it was presented at the African Union in 2005. The Global Environment Facility (GGF) has agreed to allocate $1.15 million to the initiative. This Great Green Wall project has goals to not only improve the desertification, but help the communities in that area economically, improve food production, as well as help them adapt to climate