Green-Up 1 Million Trees
Green Up Gambia’s one million trees campaign, is directly linked to the African Union Great Green Wall Initiative.
The Great Green Wall is an African-led movement with an epic ambition to grow an 8,000km natural wonder of the world across the entire width of Africa.
A decade in and roughly 15% underway, the initiative is already bringing life back to Africa’s degraded landscapes at an unprecedented scale, providing food security, jobs and a reason to stay for the millions who live along its path. The Wall promises to be a compelling solution to the many urgent threats not only facing the African Continent, but the global community as a whole – notably climate change, drought, famine, conflict and migration.
Once complete, the Great Green Wall will be the largest living structure on the planet, 3 times the size of the Great Barrier Reef.
How the project started :
The Great Green Wall is taking root in Africa's Sahel region, at the southern edge of the Sahara desert - one of the poorest places on the planet.
More than anywhere else on Earth, the Sahel is on the frontline of climate change and millions of locals are already facing its devastating impact. Persistent droughts, lack of food, conflicts over dwindling natural resources, and mass migration to Europe are just some of the many consequences.
Yet, communities from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East are fighting back.
It is in this drive that GreenUp Gambia aims to support the realization of this initiative by connecting direly to the approach and framework of the project. Making it a people centered approach involving grassroots communities in taking action while improving their livelihoods.
Current status:
Since the birth of the initiative in 2007, life has started coming back to the land, bringing improved food security, jobs and stability to people’s lives.
Recommended actions:
10 million hectares of degraded land need to be restored every year from now until 2030.
10,000 hectares to be restored in the Gambia through the large scale ecosystems based adaptation project.