United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, has disclosed that more than 20 million hectares of degraded land have been restored through efforts associated with Africa’s Great Green Wall initiative.
Mohammed made the disclosure while speaking at the opening of a high-level meeting of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
She described the Great Green Wall as a demonstration of the potential of African-led solutions to address land degradation, drought, food insecurity and economic hardship across the continent.
According to her, “Africa’s Great Green Wall offers one example of what scaling up could look like.
“More than 20 million hectares have been restored through efforts associated with the initiative and beyond its original corridor, including five million hectares regenerated by farmers in Niger.”
Mohammed said the initiative had evolved from its original concept of establishing a line of trees across the Sahel into a wider African-led strategy focused on restoring degraded land while simultaneously improving food production, creating jobs and expanding economic opportunities.
She said the integrated approach was particularly important for communities across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, where environmental degradation has compounded existing socio-economic challenges.
The UN deputy chief noted that conflicts and insecurity were placing additional pressure on communities already grappling with drought, land degradation and diminishing livelihoods.
She, however, stressed that environmental restoration could contribute to peace and stability by helping communities rebuild their economic foundations.
“Restoring land will not end conflict, but it can help to restore the livelihoods and opportunities that give people a stake in peace,” she said.
Mohammed warned that land degradation was having far-reaching economic consequences, affecting the incomes of farmers and herders, driving up food prices, reducing agricultural productivity and placing additional pressure on water and energy systems.
She said drought was further increasing the economic burden on governments, forcing them to commit more resources to emergency responses, subsidies and reconstruction while suffering declining tax revenues and, in some cases, accumulating additional debt.
According to her, governments were still investing too little in restoring degraded land despite the rising economic cost of inaction, which she said was approaching $1 trillion annually.
Mohammed consequently urged governments to move beyond isolated restoration projects and implement comprehensive national plans supported by predictable financing and greater decision-making powers for communities that depend directly on land resources.
Globally, she said, up to 40 per cent of the world’s land was degraded, undermining food production and livelihoods, while droughts had increased in frequency and duration by 29 per cent since 2000.
She warned that the situation could worsen significantly, with as many as three out of every four people potentially affected by drought by 2050.
Mohammed noted that more than 70 countries had developed national drought plans with the support of the UNCCD, but stressed that securing the resources needed to implement those plans remained a major challenge.
“You should not be asked to develop national plans and then be left to search for the means to deliver them.
“Finance has to be in place to invest in the priorities that countries have set for themselves,” she added.
She urged countries to incorporate land restoration and drought resilience into national development and fiscal planning, while reforming subsidies that encourage unsustainable environmental practices.
Mohammed also encouraged governments to explore innovative financing mechanisms, including green bonds and drought insurance, as part of broader efforts to strengthen resilience and protect communities from the growing economic and social impacts of land degradation and climate-related drought.
