As part of the “Large-scale land degradation assessment to guide future investments in sustainable land management in the Great Green Wall countries” project, national studies were carried out, with a view to identifying the needs of the four pilot countries (Burkina Faso, Niger, Ethiopia & Senegal) in terms of sustainable land management (SLM) & monitoring.
The preliminary results of these studies, describing the current situation in each country & the needs for platforms dedicated to monitoring degradation processes and SLM, were presented in a virtual workshop held on May 5, 2021, on the OSS platform, with the presence of technical partners & Heads of the General Directorates of the Great Green Wall National Agencies.
The initiative is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) & implemented by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), which supports the efforts of the Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) for the Sahara & Sahel on land degradation & desertification reversing in the Sahara & Sahel region, strengthening food security & local communities supporting adaptation to climate change.
The project is executed by the Inter-State Committee for Combating Drought in the Sahel (CILSS) & the AGRHYMET Regional Centre through the SERVIR program, in collaboration with the Sahara & Sahel Observatory (OSS) & the European Space Agency (ESA), the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS), & the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA).
One of the main specific objectives of the project is to contribute to the management & dissemination of information on land degradation & SLM practices through the creation of new - or the improvement of already existing national & regional platforms. The OSS submitted a draft proposal for the establishment of these platforms, through a concept note shared with the project technical partners.