Скачать или смотреть Sahel's Great Green Wall shifts focus to hold off desert

(13 Nov 2021) LEAD IN:
The “Great Green Wall” that was once envisioned as a way for Africa to fight climate change has stalled.
The idea behind the project was to plant a 5,000-mile line of trees that would span the entire continent and hold back the Sahara Desert.
The trees would then prevent the desert sands from advancing into temperate agricultural regions.
But as temperatures rose and rainfall diminished, millions of the planted trees died.
Now only four percent of the wall’s original goal has been met.
Organizers have shifted their focus from planting a wall of trees to trying a mosaic of smaller projects to stop desertification.

STORY-LINE:
Amid this desolate and arid land, there are small pockets of greenery.
Ibrahima Fall walks under the cool shade of dozens of lime trees, watering them with a hose as yellow chicks scurry around his feet.
The 75-year-old is the chief of the Ndiawagne Fall village in the Louga region of Senegal. The green orchard stands in contrast to the surrounding village of 83 homes in the Sahel region.  
The soil hugging the citrus trees is sand, and beyond the homes and the central well pumped with solar panels, it's a different story. Strong winds whip the dry land into the air without the protection of trees.  
This region is on one end of a project called the Great Green Wall, originally hailed for its efforts to plant nearly 5,000 miles of trees from Senegal to Djibouti in an effort to push back the encroaching Sahara Desert as climate change swept the sands south.
As temperatures rose and less rain fell, though, millions of the planted trees died.  
"The water and forestry service had planted trees in many parts of the forest to stop the advance of the desert. The "curtain" (of trees) that makes part of the strip along with other trees has stopped the desert, because before, everything we tried to put in place here was doomed to failure," says Fall.
Fall's citrus orchard, which he began in 2016, is one method of empowering communities agriculturally and economically to grow and withstand changing times.
He jumped at the chance to plant one near a water source on his land, after the municipality called village chiefs together to present options for planting on their lands.
It is a success story and one of 800 such small orchards in six communes of Senegal's Kebemer town.  
He can produce anywhere from 20 to 40 kilos of limes per week during peak season.  
The soil, enriched by the planted trees, has also helped to grow more tomatoes, onions and it means that on top of getting more money from citrus sold in markets, there is no need to spend money to buy limes or some other food staples.  
The profits the village has seen have gone into replacing straw homes with cement brick homes, more sheep, goats and chickens.
They have also added a solar panel to help the communal well pump water, allowing them to avoid paying more for water in the desert.
The scarcity  of water dominates everyday life here, says N'diaya Fall, a resident of Ndiawagne Fall village.
"Here the water is the main source of occupation (referring to the time people have to spend to obtain water when there is none in the village). On days when we have enough, we can water our vegetable fields which will provide us with income and as a result we will be able to support our husbands with the daily expenses"
Today organizers are trying instead to find smaller, more durable ways to stop desertification in Senegal.
They're focusing on community-driven projects that can help the most vulnerable agriculture.

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