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International Partnerships

Growing the Great Green Wall

The Great Green Wall seeks to re-green Africa from Senegal to Somalia. It is about building a mosaic of green and productive landscapes that improve people’s livelihoods and foster environmental sustainability.

Key info

Location: 11 countries are officially part of the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall (PAGGW): Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Chad), while 7 other Sub-Saharan African countries are associated (Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Cape Verde, The Gambia, South Sudan and Somalia). The total of partner countries with which the EU collaborates is 18.

Duration: 2021–2025

Budget: €17 700 000 000

Objectives

The EU's support to the Great Green Wall is part of the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package. The GGW is also a key enabler of commitments announced by the EU under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, such as the Paris Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Most importantly, the EU's support to the GGW promotes the external dimension of the European Green Deal, with a specific focus on its Farm-to-Fork Strategy, its Biodiversity Strategy 2030, and its Soil Strategy 2030. Moreover, it reflects the EU’s ambitions in combatting desertification worldwide, also under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

In addition, 15 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are broadly supported through the individual programmes under EU support to the GGW.

Implementation

The EU supports the Great Green Wall mainly through 18 country-specific programmes. In addition, a number of regional programmes contribute towards the goals of the GGW.

Supporting programmes can operate in the fields of, for example, food security, climate change and biodiversity loss, sustainable agri-food systems, addressing desertification or sustainable energy.

Where possible, the EU seeks to deploy an integrated approach to sustainable land management, which combines rural agricultural development with biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and climate action.

The Great Green Wall Accelerator was brought to life at the One Planet Summit in 2021. With the financial support of 9 international donors, it seeks to make the initiative a key force for sustainable development in this crucial decade up to 2030. Out of the € 17.5 billion that was pledged at the summit, the EU will provide more than € 700 million per year.

The Global Gateway stands for sustainable and trusted connections that work for people and the planet.