Tanzania’s inclusion in Great Green Wall Initiative requires expertise and management

Tanzania is getting closer to have a national strategy and action plan for the implementation of the Great Green Wall in the country aimed at combating climate change, halt desertification and transforming lives of the people. 

The Great Green Wall is an African regional and national initiative since 2007 by the African Union and the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) covering over thirty countries.

The Great Green Wall is a game changing initiative aimed at restoring the continent’s degraded landscapes and reversing trends in desertification, climate change, biodiversity, and loss through a common set of environmental interventions. Israeli academia, institutes and bushiness have been involved in this ambitious plan from West to East Africa.

The initiative has been already implemented in Sahara and Sahel regions, and it has recently expanded to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, including Tanzania. 

Tanzania’s National Action Plan (NAP) is spearheaded now by the environmental departments of environment with assistance from independent consultants and overall supervision of the Great Green Wall Coordinator and a core team comprising of SADC, FAO, and Africa Union experts. Tanzania is the third country to develop a NAP this year. FAO is committed to support the Great Green Wall across the continent and in the sub-regions. So far, data across the Sahel and Sub-Sahara Africa have been analyzed in close collaboration with the AU, supported by the Pan African Agency for the Great Green Wall (PA-GGW), regional and national institutions from over thirty countries. 

Between 2018 and 2020, a continental-scale data collection on various parameters related to biophysical environment, agriculture and land use was conducted and now also available for use also in Tanzania for restorable land and potential carbon gross gain, investment decisions around land restoration, forest landscape restoration and carbon storage programs,

The FAO is aiding the Tanzanian government in tackling land degradation, deforestation, and forest degradation in the dry Miombo woodland of Tanzania with the support of funding from the Global Environment Facility. This initiative aims to assist rural communities in the Tabora and Rukwa regions, specifically in the Kaliua and Mlele landscapes, through the implementation of Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) and the establishment of the Honey Value Chain.

This project presents an excellent opportunity to leverage expert knowledge and management skills from Israeli academia, institutes, and businesses. The aim is to enhance capacity building and improve access to financial resources for initiatives focused on sustainable land management, drought mitigation, de-desertification, adaptive agricultural methods, animal husbandry, and reforestation. These efforts will play a crucial role in combatting drought and desertification.

Israeli and  African organizations interested in implementing this project in Tanzania and have and access to additional funds for planning, and implementation are invited to connect with, Israel4Africa to obtain further information.