Organizers behind the Great Green Wall Project are Seeking Corporate Investors
The project — which aims to reforest 100 million hectares of degraded land stretching from Senegal to Djibouti by 2030 — has faced hurdles since its 2007 launch, and only 20 million hectares of the green belt have materialized. Two years ago, French President Emmanuel Macron promised $15.2 billion in additional funding to the project, but that money has yet to materialize. Meanwhile, every country involved in the project has its own budget, and it is unclear what has been spent so far by each of them. There are small success stories though: In Senegal, a 1,000-hectare reserve has seen migratory birds, tortoises, and monkeys returning. Local farmers are paid for their work in the reforested area, and the project has offered some relief for nearby villages struggling with poor economies.