A fragile Great Green Wall for Africa • FRANCE 24 English

[@donkimarusr5537]

I'm a Kenyan from Rift valley, my district is so green, I thank God.....I want to help build this wall, my dad and I grow trees every year.

[@googlesellsmydata]

Thank men, not God. You said it yourself, people like you and your Dad made the changes that you're thankful for.

[@thedude5599]

ill help ya bro. I need some boots on the ground over there.

[@En_332]

@@googlesellsmydatathank god!

[@umayoub5]

​@@googlesellsmydataand who made you?

[@dlewis8405]

I like how the program is focused on projects that depend on local buy in such as donating baby fruit trees that the locals will have their own interest in maintaining. Any project that involves billions in hand outs from the NGOs to simply employ local people is obviously not going to be sustainable.

[@Jay_Johnson]

the opposite of Afghanistan. 100 times the GDP was put into the economy by the western forces. The removal of the western forces collapsed it.

[@markhirstwood4190]

@@Jay_Johnson And Western 'experts' referred to the Afghanistan government as a 'corrupt actor', just after it fell and as the Taliban took over again, but speaking as though they all knew that for the the last 20 years. So they went in to uproot AQ, okay, but then someone got the bright idea to nation build and built from scratch, by a US led group, the Afghanistan government was corrupt. What does that say about America and by extension, NATO?

[@Jay_Johnson]

@@markhirstwood4190 when 100 times your nations gdp is poured into your military, as a general would you not fudge the books to get a bigger slice of the pie. And as an Afghan when the only good paying job is a soldier would you not desert when America stopped paying your paycheck.

[@nate4this]

So do you think they should buy the land and employ people or be the bank of these nations people by lending them the money for development. Or should everything be done as charity work and require permanent investment

[@sw.7519]

@@Jay_Johnson you can bring a horse to the water but it has to drink alone. It is whlishful thinking of the West to change whole nations and tribes remotely. I cannot even change a drug addicted or homeless person with mental problems. This is arrogant.

[@stephanledford9792]

Giving the people fruit trees is a great idea - a "normal" tree is likely to end up being firewood when it grows up, the fruit tree will be protected.

[@Deadassbruhfrfr]

they will probably still chop them down. look at Haiti

[@lukesutton4135]

You mean like how it was before the desertification? Problem is idiots and seeing as the US is ran by one, everyone is s.o.l.

[@stephanledford9792]

@@lukesutton4135 The US isn't really involved in this green belt program so the fact that we are run by idiots isn't really a factor here. Notice that I didn't disagree with your assessment of our leadership. It is amazing and disappointing that we cannot do better in this area.

[@dne50]

I guess even feel good stories and positivity are not immune to idiotic, irrelevant political statements and negativity Stephan

[@SlothfulSins]

At least people are spending money on Green projects that have a meaningful impact on nature, instead of oil exploration, greed, and so on.

[@pjacobsen1000]

2:20 "It rains 300 mm on average, less than a can of Coke". They seem to confuse mm and ml. 300 mm of rain is equivalent to covering the ground with Coke cans, three layers thick. Even so, 300 mm of rain annually is not really enough for intensive agriculture, but should be enough to cover the ground with grasses, bushes and trees, provided the land is managed properly.

[@hipstajohnyy2033]

don't be shocked, they are french after all😂😂

[@Oscarcat2212]

I noticed that as well. lol. And your right. Most places in Australia are lucky if the get rain a few times a decade. They are greener than there. Over grazing and population?

[@pjacobsen1000]

@@Oscarcat2212 Yes, most likely over grazing and population. In the past, when people were few and farther between, there were fewer goats and less need for firewood, so you could just go out and take what you needed. As populations in the developing world have grown, these practices no longer work. At the very least, penning of goats and sheep is a minimum requirement for rehabilitation.

[@davidkottman3440]

300mm/yr = 12 inches for those who are curious...

[@markhirstwood4190]

St Osyth, Essex, England gets about 507 mm of rain per year. 300 mm sounds low but maybe not that low. My city in Ontario, Canada averages about 800 mm.

[@biulaimh3097]

This year 17 million acres of forest went up in smoke in Russia alone. The importance of the great green wall cannot be over stated. Climate change is increasing desertification in the tropics i.e, in the area between the equator and the poles. If nothing is done, deserts will push north/south toward the artic/antartc and south/north toward the equatorial rain forests. So, a similar green wall across Northern Namibia, Botswana, southern Zimbabwe and central Mozambique would help stop the Kalahari pushing north. Also, South Africa could plant a green wall in a north/south direction to stop the Kalahari moving east.

[@madoxxxx06]

That's a fantastic and we'll thought out comment, that's exactly what needs to be done.

[@apostolosvranas4499]

Well said, my friend! 👍

[@hotbit7327]

As 8:42 shows: overgrazing, and human predatory behaviour are 100% responsible for these land changes (desertification), not climate change. So I disagree on this point. I second everything else you said.

[@LadyScaper]

@@hotbit7327so these things weren’t happening when the older people remember this place being green? The place getting hotter from climate change and sucking the water out of the soil is definitely a factor.

[@vikz5786]

Geoff Lawton's Greening the Desert project has in a decade, turned a barren rocky landscape in Jordan into a permaculture food-producing success story. Maybe they should give him a call.

[@progressivegranny4207]

I remember Geoff of several years ago, he does do some similar techniques, and this "WALL" was started by the **Women of One Small Village* Over 20 YEARS ago, lol, their men thought they were Crazy so did not help at first NOW The Whole Nation has one of the Newest Wonder Of The World that OTHERS take credit for, lol> They used **The Savory Method*... a Man living in Africa, seeing the Desertification ALL Over the Planet< decided to "try something OLD"> on his own land he decided to BRING ANIMALS back on the soil, Capture Water, Keep Animals MOVING {Feeding at first} ( The Savory Institute... Savory teaches different techniques, has for Over 50 years) he has been here in USA (Prairie Restore, Agri. Lands, Recreational, etc...) and ALL Over teaching so others could start their Own Restoration Groups> Tis AWESOME we have Many "Rainbow Warriors Healing Mother Gaia"!

[@progressivegranny4207]

Actually, I think there is a video of Lawton going to one of Savory's Lectures too, Anyway, besides the Savory videos from his home in Africa > Before his Institute

[@vikz5786]

@@progressivegranny4207 oh yeah for sure. We in the West call it permaculture but it's a practice that's been going on forever. I'm new to food forest / permaculture but I find it fascinating and am learning new stuff all the time.

[@hipstajohnyy2033]

where is the evidence?

[@AG-ig8uf]

Water management, like dams to catch rainfall, is far more important than planting trees. Trees don't create rain or water, although i recently found that lot of commenters on youtube believe that. Contrary, too many trees will suck underground waters and reduce water table even further. Improve water harvesting, reduce overgrazing, and greening will happen naturally.

[@Nemesis_T_Type]

What this place really needs are swales so water can be captured when it rains or flood just like the Al Baydha project in Saudi Arabia or Geoff Lawton's permaculture center in Jordan.

[@jamessang5027]

Correct! This video does not get it! Harvest the rainwater and the trees will come!

[@meilinchan7314]

What you don't understand is that rains and floods are hard to come by and they will not solve the problem. Swales are not idea for a desert region prone to sandstorms and silting. They're using acacias, because acacias are tough and valuable - not just for the stuff mentioned, but also for increasing the water table. These trees absorb water and help to protect the land from dessication. Unfortunately, as China's experiences suggest, this process won't be easily achieved and will take decades if not generations.

[@jamessang5027]

@@meilinchan7314 I am correct. You are wrong! You cannot have trees or any vegetative growth without water in the soil. The first process is harvest the rainwater. You do this by building 2 or 3 foot deep swales, subsoil plowing, trenching or deep holes, anything to get the rainwater into the soil, even putting large rocks on the land to stop the flow of rainwater. In China , they planted a lot of trees, but many of them died because of a lack of soil moisture. They also lowered the ground water level 33% because of the trees. Water harvesting can be done in deserts. In "The Story of AL Baydha..." , they started plant growth evan when it stopped raining for 2 years!! They accomplished this by changing the topography of the land to capture rain water!

[@raiemj]

I don't understand why they didn't grow more trees near the village, especially near the wasted puddle of water near the well.

[@LadyScaper]

@@jamessang5027there are updates to this project and they are doing exactly what you have said, harvesting and retaining water to restore the soil. With the soil retaining water, there is a lot of plant growth. This video has a quite pessimistic view. Changes of land turning beige desert to green is now noticeable on google maps. Kind of stunned how France 24 has done such pessimistic reporting on such an ambitious and expanding project. It’s like they decided the project was a failure before they took one interview.

[@hadie8469]

300mm on average doesnt mean 300ml per square meter for the whole season. 300mm means 300 Litre per square meter, which is a lot more than a can of coke.

[@fredrubble5024]

In Australia, rainfall is measured in a 203mm rain gauge, and any catch is of course only a sample. It's absolutely correct to point out that what's measured in a gauge, not spread over an area (well, apart from the area of the gauge mouth). In this country 300mm annually is classed as semi-arid, and paddocks in this climatic region are usually restricted to grazing, while crops are grown once the annual rainfall gets to 500mm annually.

[@fredrubble5024]

@@bubblewrapstillpink2804 300mm per annum is not desert, it's semi-arid. Generally true desert is classed as those areas receiving less than 100mm annually, like the Atacama. It does depend on temperatures too, many temperate areas receive only 4-700mm annually but are far from arid.

[@theedain]

Yeah she was so misleading there

[@rn-wilx3952]

300mm is garden of Adn! 300mm more than enough to build the greenest of all green forests. I don't know what they talking about! but 300mm more than great, yes it's the minimum amount of rain water to get green land but with 300mm you get Switzerland type of green. in my region we get 300mm it's so green

[@09conrado]

@@rn-wilx3952 well it all depends on runoff and evaporatiin. Once you can minimize these two, you can get growth out of 300 mm, but it's still not that much in such a hot climate

[@sjain8111]

for every tree cut, ten more should be planted

[@laszloiso777]

@Anusha Fernando It has more to do with large heads of goats. But Mohamed loved goats... so there is a real link!

[@tiloalo]

@Anusha Fernando lol, quit smoking you're already way too high... Maybe believing in such BS is also what doomed them

[@unknownn.Userrrrrr]

@Anusha Fernando stop spreading bullsh!t mate. Mohammad was himself a farmer and planted lots of palm trees.

[@bismanaufa5618]

The same species to prevent extinction

[@SteveWrathall]

2:25 "Less than 300 mm per year, less than a can of Coke" Are the qualifications for science journalists now so low they can't even tell the difference between depth and volume?

[@timmeh87]

Lol, I guess they meant "one can of coke per square centimeter", Isnt that the standard unit to measure rain?

[@highviewbarbell]

for real, it's nearly 1/6th of a fathom!

[@254alright2]

Then my question come , where and how does it concern you

[@Doug923]

The report didn’t mention why those trees used to be there were gone. I wonder how the local officials could ensure that those newly planted tree will survive if there were nothing changed. Besides, I would expect that satellite images could be used to monitor the progress against the target. And those in charge can learn from the successes and replicate the practice to make progress.

[@bendedstraw4294]

@@metrictonnes8971 which region, which country ?

[@bluebutterfly4594]

They did mention that rainfall has significantly reduced. That would explain the lack of vegetation Also the great thing about the wall is that it is lead by locals people who are experiencing the effects. So its not like someone else has come and planted these trees. And generally people take care of whats their's. They have every reason to want those trees to survive

[@mabamabam]

@@bluebutterfly4594 Rainfall has reduced as a result of deforestation.

[@metrictonnes8971]

@@bendedstraw4294 Northern Nigeria, Africa.

[@sabinereynaudsf]

Overgrazing in an already dry area has been mentioned as a contributor. Unless areas are fenced off from grazing, small saplings will be gobbled up.

[@Leo-eb1wl]

Saying that they receive less rain than that of a can off coke is a little miss leading, and it also free name dropping for a company that has done more harm than desertification.

[@TheOnlyJamesRWalker]

You are right that it is misleading. 300 millimeters of rainfall does not equal 300 milliliters of coke. One is a measurement of height and one is a measure of volume. That journalist did not do well at high school science I suspect.

[@priestesslucy]

Wow, yeah, 300 mm is deeper than two cans of coke stacked ontop of eachother. That's almost 3 cans of coke deep.

[@Costopher]

@@TheOnlyJamesRWalker In this context they mean the same thing. Rainfall is measured in millimetres in height over a certain period; this is equivalent to litres per square metre. If you have a square with a side of 1 millimetre, or an area of 1 mm squared and the rainfall is 1 mm tall in that area you have 1 millilitre of water, 1 mm cubed of volume or 1 gram of water. That's the beauty of metric. That's why you can very easily express volume and even weight in litres or in metres when it comes to water(not getting into density explanations, we'll stick to water at 'default' conditions). If you were to put an empty 300 mill can of coke(the only assumption is that it's a perfect cylinder and not tapered at the ends) in an area that has a 300 millimetres rainfall, that can of coke would be filled.

[@rbanerjee605]

A can of coke is something most people can quantify. People aren’t trying to ‘name drop’ for big companies, simply allowing viewers to quantify.

[@TheOnlyJamesRWalker]

@@Costopher You are correct that this is generally how rainfall is described. I have a rain gauge in my backyard that works exactly this way. This video mixes volume and height in a way that doesn't make any sense though. A can of coke is not 300mm high. 300mm rainfall=coke can could only be reconciled if they had a 1cm square capture area and used that to nearly fill a 330ml coke can. I doubt they went to the effort of setting up that experiment. If they were the kind of people that went to that length to be correct then they wouldn't have mixed up the units to begin with.

[@MrGigi-dz9cv]

They need to rotate grazing. That will allow plants to grow.

[@MrCalls1]

They hinted at around 5 minutes in. Shifting rains has caused a reduction in grassland coverage, and weakened yields of crops. As a result event he same number of herd animals exhaust lands that could in the past provide for more people than presently live there. A consequence of climate change, and generalised ecological collapse.

[@jackroutledge352]

Good point, bit it's hard to enforce among the community. This is a good example of the "tragedy of the commons"

[@nirodper]

as there are no fences no one is responsible for the land, so they don't care that they are overgrazing

[@fishyerik]

Not much, net grazing pressure is most important factor, the lower the better. Rotating actually doesn't help if all the vegetation gets eaten eventually anyway.

[@Nemesis_T_Type]

They need to stop grazing for a few years so grasses will grow and restore the nutrients. Al Baydha project in Saudi Arabia had worse drought conditions but grasses and plants were able to spring back to life after 3 years of drought because they banned grazing.

[@aprasath1]

However small it is , it is still progress.

[@royfearn4345]

Heartwarming. Now, if we can get rid of the local warlords and grifters and give safety and security to the people we will really make progress.

[@unknownn.Userrrrrr]

As soon as most of them are involved in a job or something this problems would also get slowly solved.

[@heavingearth9694]

Ps: you wrote this on a video about Africa where the french president is giving a speech!

[@flo__60]

@@unknownn.Userrrrrr know someone who lives in Burkina as a NGO person who try to establish local sustenance farming. over there the men spend the day at the bar and the young women go with them in order to get hitched, only the older women work the fields BY HAND. A French farmer's cooperative i work with set up few humanitarian operations with African countries, systematically high-jacked... a ship filled with wheat was send, it arrived the African continent filled with weapons, the following time they send equipment instead, a local called dibs on the tractor and used it as a bus for immediate money. when the small motorcycle they send to tour the farm broke down he had the guts to claim new one... We can't do everything in their stead, we would be back to the colonial era... ... when their economy looked like something, employment was large, products where exported and infrastructures were being built. the railways being built before the decolonisation were better than anything existing in domestic France. They chose independence.

[@nerdyb411]

✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿

[@arlenehutchinson9259]

This is my favourite project since I heard of it. I pray for it's success 🙏🏾 I think this turning away from the political class to locals impacted can only be a positive move.

[@sonicblast2767]

We should thank to the smart people who predict a future and plan how to solve man made or timings problems ...

[@mariyaatanasova1556]

Look at that uncovered ground that will evaporate water like crazy. They need ground cover even if it is some sort of cactus.

[@brendatenorio5721]

Fruit trees great but green belt trees needed too! Trees for fodder, grasses and shrubs as well as water recharge systems, reservoirs

[@beback_]

So this is what George R R Martin is doing instead of writing.

[@CraigTheBrute-yf7no]

A game of trees

[@ErykSpace]

This is actually Muammar Gaddafi environmental projects, but US with EU kill him for access to Libya oil

[@alphabarrie8403]

This is the kind of people is needed. I want to join your cause.

[@kkgt6591]

Don't join, it's not going to work, the ppl will cut them off.

[@shaakirabdi9422]

Be positive budy How do you know they will cut ✂️?😊

[@michaelhedges7541]

One of the big problems are the goat herds. A goat will eat any type of vedgetation

[@sbl17jackson37]

Stop cutting trees and animal grazing. The forest will come back.

[@piedrablanca1942]

the forest need help when it has been so abused

[@tedmureithi6483]

There was never a forest, it was grassland

[@sbl17jackson37]

@@tedmureithi6483 That's not true. This was a forest until they cut down the trees, and overgrazed the land with animals.

[@tedmureithi6483]

@@sbl17jackson37 I don't know what to tell you, I live in Africa and forests only exist in Highlands, that is the sahel so unless you're going back before the last ice age there was never a forest. It was mainly grass, flowers, shrubs and a couple sparse acacia trees like you see in any documentary with lions

[@tedmureithi6483]

@@sbl17jackson37 also about overgrazing I direct you towards the work of Allan savory

[@thomascarrollphd9721]

They should also consider introducing beekeeping along with the trees.

[@irenedavo3768]

Where are you?

[@irenedavo3768]

Do you know about Jigger Victims? Kenya 🇰🇪

[@irenedavo3768]

Need Boreholes and Wells!

[@angelsbackgroundsounds]

yes!

[@BigBodyBiggolo]

They need everything. Fungus, wells, wildlife, insects etc. This is 1000s of miles of sand there is absolutely nothing there in the first couple of feet downwards.

[@merf64]

So it's not about trees, its about fencing. Goats are super destructive.

[@donkimarusr5537]

A man with no trees 🌲 🌲 🌲🌲 is a poor man even if he's a banker.

[@farisasmith7109]

I'm watching this a year later and the reports of increased Saharan dust crossing the Atlantic and decreasing rainfall throughout the Caribbean and lower half of the US is alarming. Then the Canadian wildfires are affecting the upper half of the US. We are have record heat and decreased rainfall. All of these initiatives won't do much if many changes aren't made in the industries that contribute largely to deforestation and pollution.

[@njugunamaina]

An Africa free of France is an independent Africa

[@njugunamaina]

@@денисбаженов-щ1б most of us have had longer periods of peace than Europeans

[@njugunamaina]

@MerchMazing that's because you're ignorant or something

[@VGameL0v3e12sF012Ree]

They should just develop oases. Can't increase rainfall, and clearly, the land is dry, so just redirect rainfall and store them efficiently via oases.

[@doso1313]

Unless people change their diet. It wouldn't be long before grazing animals turns undergrowth/grass bare again.

[@fitawrarifitness6842]

It's true

[@TheBooban]

Natural order. Grass gone? Goats gone. Humans gone. Grass comes back. Unless we interfere as we always do. Perpetual poverty and environmental destruction.

[@ianbeddowes5362]

Savannah land is not suitable for large cale agriculture. It is suitable for controlled grazing which will restore desert to savannah.

[@priestesslucy]

@@TheBooban grass won't come back in this situation without help. Tropical ecosystems are far too fragile.

[@MrGigi-dz9cv]

They need to rotate grazing.

[@deborahbyom929]

I’m glad to see things being put back into Africa instead of stripping it dry. Make sure to keep this for Africans first and foremost,not to drive out the indigenes people or ways.

[@mick0matic]

Thats why they train locals, otherwise this wouldnt work. They also try to implement local knowledge for the project.

[@hailus7714]

Dryland permaculture with strong emphasis on water harvesting and planting native trees and rotational managed grazing is the solution.

[@irenedavo3768]

Where are WaterAid?

[@danielsoeller]

8:56, they dont do a good job of managed grazing...

[@Dutch_Uncle]

How far down is the water table? In the 19th century every farm in the western US had a windmill for water.

[@ZsoltLauter]

To build up fertile soil they need grasslands and since everyone has goats over there, that is trying to eat everything that's green, even your jumper, they practically work against themselves.

[@Pen-ul2ex]

goats arent the problem.. herds actually enrich soil

[@ZsoltLauter]

@@Pen-ul2ex Some do but goats are disastrous. Don't compare that land to the green fields of Western Europe where everything's green thanks to the oceanic climate. If you watched the video you can see that apart from the area secured by fence from goats nothing grows, there's no grass at all. If there's plenty then a number of goats are alright, otherwise it's better keeping them away from anything that's green.

[@Billy420-69]

@@Pen-ul2ex Wrong, goats destroy everything.

[@MsCaleb79]

They can put a fence for the goats

[@Pen-ul2ex]

@@MsCaleb79 but the goats have rights

[@inspetordopequidegoias8203]

They use slingshots to spread the seeds or just spread them by hand, but we know that the majority of the seeds on top of the soil won't germinate. Why they just simply make small holes and put the seeds in? Doing that, the percentage of germination is much much greater.

[@JHamList]

exclusion of grazing livestock seems to be key to recovering depleted land, localised economic development ought to offer alternatives to herding/grazing, or at very least provide a platform to engage with local communities to promote communal rotation of grazing lands on an organized basis to help let the land fallow and recover

[@ollievw3450]

Leaving livestock off would be the biggest mistake. The main problem is the lack of livestock management. Free grazing is the norm, rather than proper stewarding off the land through managed grazing. Grasslands need livestock to thrive and they have a symbiotic relationship.

[@dafyddlewis89]

@@ollievw3450 Absolutely this. We need massive amounts of animals dropping nutrients on that land to build soil.

[@mariyaatanasova1556]

Rotation of the grazing animals is the key. They should be allowed to only trample the ground and eat at certain times as their excitements feed the seeds and legs trample the seed into the ground to sprout faster. Agriculture and animal husbandry in right combination is most sustainable agriculture and it is how nature ecosystems work naturally. As many ecologist discovered that removing entirely the animals further degraded the lands

[@cdcx9033]

2 years later things seem to be getting better

[@gilgaloregames1066]

that guy is so awesome giving fruit plants ^_^

[@irenedavo3768]

Better to plant five near each other?

[@priestguardian2587]

one of the most sustainable projects I have ever heard about. More like this is needed :)

[@TheShalalai]

So far, this project looks like a big failure. Deforestation continues in Africa rapidly, and it seems that governments and people just don't give an F***. Only two continents so far have managed to increase forest area, which is north America and Europe.

[@brendatenorio5721]

Trees and indigenous grasses desperately needed, shade reduces heat, brings back insects, mammals, birds, and rainfall which will sustain people, earth and livelihoods.

[@ernest795]

Please keep this story alive and continue giving updates. This is the type of reporting that will change our world for the better.

[@christiandewit1364]

300 mm of rain, less than 340 ml of beverage? 300 mm is 300 liters per sq meter...

[@BigBodyBiggolo]

Lol

[@bismanaufa5618]

Per year.

[@pakfurious8212]

why not plant mango trees instead of lemon. mango tree grow really tall and its better fruit

[@davidkottman3440]

Takes more water, right? I never see mango in a desert, but it is too cold here for either lemon or mango so don't really know

[@__Wanderer]

Get several hundred drones - fill them with a mix of seeds and fly them over the entire region country by country. Repeat every year until biodiversity has been restored. Count what type of trees/ seeds are growing and focus on those that can withstand the climate for a given region. Can also leave gaps between the flight paths as trees that grow should also produce seeds that will fill in the gaps.

[@rbanerjee605]

You need water to grow plants.

[@__Wanderer]

@@rbanerjee605 start with drought resistant grasses / shrubs. Once an undergrowth has been established where water is trapped you can seed it more easily.

[@veggiedisease123]

Thomas Sankara was doing this same thing in the '80s and actually made good progress. If it wasn't for France overthrowing him in a coup, this project would've been a lot closer to fruition.

[@howardharris4718]

Without trees, we will all die planting trees is the way to go trees keep us healthy .

[@TheShalalai]

North America and Europe grow more wood than cut down. There are regulations in place which prioritize timber from sustainable forests.

[@artistdigital]

Small correct positive actions can trigger a chain reaction of good for all! Amazing documentary

[@johngrech1659]

the area have the same rainfall like repbulic of malta. .....Prickly pears trees are perfect for low rainfall coutries like malta and africa.....they have delicious food and very perfect tree to feed goats and cows. it dont need rain every year and it can also grow by having rain once a year

[@Llkc60]

i shut this down after hearing that 4% has been done after 18 years. What is to see here? :/

[@mihirm3632]

Lol Yeah!

[@YoungGirlz8463]

They're doing good things!

[@Llkc60]

@@YoungGirlz8463 they did 4% of the good things they said they were gonna do. sick and tired of climate promises and treaties that are followed with 0 action, apologies - 4% action. Lame and sad

[@TheShalalai]

@@Llkc60 If not that white dude it would be 2%

[@Llkc60]

@@TheShalalai they can't even feed themselves you cannot expect them to plant vegetation along 8000 km perimeter. either the west does it or it won't get done and everybody knows this

[@mohannair5671]

Salute the spirit of the people involved. Wish them better cooperation with success

[@bobbygreen9766]

Why don’t the governments receiving the aid hire tractors and modern machinery for planning to help speed up the process?

[@geel1590]

Because it's a show for the TV program

[@ianchandley]

Because the idea is to get locals involved so that they have an investment in their communities. Mechanization will exclude a lot of people, so they will feel left out. This process also teaches the villagers the value of looking after the land.

[@d8ngdeld8ng]

Go Africa. 🖤🌱🌳🌴🤎

[@elb4rto965]

"only 4%"?? I'm sorry? Did u see the size of the plan? Isn't it fantastic to have 4% of that work already done?? I'm so glad they do something to take care of nature, i'm so sad Europe don't !! I'm belgian and I can see : Africa 4 - Europe 0 !

[@hhydar883]

The problem is not just planting trees but also water them regularly to keep them from dying in early years of growth. This is a very difficult thing to do especially in the areas which are deserted and see less to no rainfall annually.

[@bopdawg1082]

A balance of grassland and trees will help speed up the regeneration. Grass would greatly assist in stopping soil erosion while bushes should also be employed to stabilize soil before reintroducing bigger trees.

[@saarbrooklynrider2277]

the problem is overgrazing

[@sophitran]

Why not dig out ponds and water pits while planting the trees too.

[@LadyScaper]

They do. France 24 didn’t show that part.

[@downbntout]

300 mm = about 12 inches. They'd better take excellent care of every raindrop

[@notlessgrossman163]

This was described in a science Fiction story called Soil Mechanics in 2003 inspired by Wangari Matthai

[@mohannair5671]

The transformed kand is so reassuring and enthusing!!!!!

[@aaronwere6150]

How do you tap in to water out there? You could start a huge permaculture project, but tapping water is key

[@DavidandShirley]

A can of coke is 300 millilitres, not millimetres. They’re completely different things. Who writes this sh!te?

[@springrollwang4441]

coke company

[@jaads7910]

Plant fruit trees less chance of demented folk cutting them down

[@jamsaidemelo1367]

Demented or desperate ?

[@gamaliel3443]

What do you know with your white people problems?

[@tonyvu2011]

@@gamaliel3443 "Ja" is a male name of African origin.

[@gamaliel3443]

@@tonyvu2011 And "white people's problems" is an expression that refers to a "relatively minor problem, complaint, etc., associated with a relatively high standard of living." Are you saying that an African cannot have a high standard of living?

[@jamsaidemelo1367]

@@gamaliel3443 you're just angry my friend.

[@worldview2888]

I CARE about such causes .. please together we can come together to solve this and make this world greener, and the lives better for those affected.

[@ekevanderzee9538]

When "the guy in charge" doesn't even know how a mask works.... Planting trees yes. But how will they get enough water? One guy says "this is an important field. It is the only one left that we can graze our catrle on" or something similar. This implies the seedlings will just get eaten?

[@irenedavo3768]

Do you wonder where WaterAid are? Oxfam? Amref? Comic Relief?

[@kkgt6591]

It's going to be a waste of time and money.

[@lamebubblesflysohigh]

from those 40 milliards for the green wall, 35 will be embezzled, 4 mismanaged and the rest will not be enough :-/ as always

[@Lemosa3414]

Maybe the nature's punishment for Africa is deserved since they embazzle this much

[@svensebastian2712]

W breed to fast, we are to greedy, cannibalism could also improve the general living standard, they already ate our relatives as stated.

[@sm3675]

@@svensebastian2712 um what??? 😃🤨

[@svensebastian2712]

@@sm3675 If man can eat all the apes, it can also digest man, and it is not forbdden in koran.

[@netizencapet]

The money needs to be spent not merely to plant trees but ensure they grow and survive! I read a recent review of similar projects around the world and most fail due to lack of maintenance and water provision after first planting.

[@joeblack4436]

Just planting trees will not solve the environmental degradation there. They need to be helped in diversifying their livestock, agricultural practices to diversify their diets and allow them to keep their goats in pens (Alfalfa as feed is choice). and finally they need electricity to stop cooking with wood (a bit of solar power, and solar ovens can go a long way in a hot region like that). Goat herding over communal land alone is fine for small populations, but as the populations grow, and more goats are needed, they will eat anything down to the roots and up to as far as they can reach. And they can even climb trees, and strip them of all leaves. Killing many trees in the process. What's more then the remaining trees are used for firewood. Any scale above the carrying capacity of the land rapidly leads to desertification in semi-arid regions. That is why you see the land around settlements are utterly barren apart from a few trees the goats can't destroy, and further away there are still somewhat viable ecosystems. They should be introduced to permaculture as well as chickens and other types of livestock, and have the limits of the land's ability to carry goats explained. As well as better herding practices, like rotation schemes. If done right, they can make their areas greener if rather than 500 goats in a village, stripping everything. They rather have 50 goats, and 1000 chickens. Maybe a few milk cows. And more vegetables and fruit from permaculture. A bit of grain to help feed the animals. Anything more balanced than just more goats really. They can even have somewhat more goats if they are introduced to Alfalfa cultivation to feed the goats in pens, instead of letting them graze everywhere. A more balanced diet with grains, vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs and milk. That, or the few trees planted will just become more goat chow and firewood eventually.

[@RK-ds3jk]

Give this projet to the Chinese and in 5years, you will see forest in the Sahara

[@leeroy855]

Yeah, yeah right! I hate when people say stupid shit like that. Let's give the world to the Chinese . in 5 years they will make it better .

[@jorgenava5466]

@YourNatureBoy27 most of people do see you like that if you haven't noticed , eventually everything will go extinct no matter what so let's try to live a better life today cause like they say tomorrow is not promised.

[@rexscipio3344]

It is a water issue. The Sahara is a desert with no rain fall.

[@libGODFATHER]

@@leeroy855 guess you hate facts

[@leeroy855]

@@libGODFATHER Your delusional ,the Chinese can be your lord and saviour, not mine . I dont think there's any country or nation that can green a desert without wreaking havoc on something else.

[@loneforest6541]

wow Haider Ali....the living legend, I watched his Senegal video and became a fan of him

[@alundolton7450]

This could work much better if livestock were properly managed, planned grazing. Check Allan Savory on reversing desertification. Over 50 years of experience, this works!

[@leelindsay5618]

The Savory Institute could show the people how to graze regeneratively and restore the grasslands. Understanding Ag channel on KZbin teaches how to switch to regenerative practices. Soil health principles work anywhere there is soil.

[@mihirm3632]

So true

[@playgirl7305]

Bring the Chinese on board! They will finish it in just under 5 years.

[@IB_info]

So true the Chinese are very practical.

[@mjerome1457]

And then they will steal the lands. And the African Governments are corrupt

[@A.D.540]

@@mjerome1457 what's wrong if they steel it I don't see people fighting for it and when they do the government oppressed it citizen. At least someone is using the land that isn't part of the government although its non-native

[@davidkottman3440]

Why can't Africans get their collective acts together? Why do they need chinese or white men to lead them?

[@IB_info]

@@davidkottman3440 we are talking in the context of them being already involved with the Europeans so we are comparing to which partner is better..No man is an Island.

[@brendatenorio5721]

Some of these guys are legends-al Ali in particular. He's right. Meetings and planning and doing.

[@ZsoltLauter]

Would also need water. Like the way Lybia made the Great Man-Made River. The one that was partially destroyed thanks to France and its allies.

[@ZsoltLauter]

@Paol Vrobel Desalinated water. What is your concern?

[@manontondalan9941]

run a water pipeline across that 8k kms there you can successfully run your green belt across Africa...other than that would be difficult.

[@frenetic1057]

The Sahara is enormous, that would be a massive undertaking

[@nayanjyotinjchungkrang7077]

I hope my african brothers and sisters achieve their targets and restore their beautiful continent. Supporting their efforts all the way from India

[@belesariius]

Not a bund, swale, gambion or dhun in sight. Everything starts with water harvesting. water is life as a key phrase shouldnt be unknown by these people.

[@BariumBlue]

I was thinking the same. I would guess that there is rainfall, but little water retention. What I believe to be a common issue is that Wadis (dry riverbeds that only carry water right after it rains), with their hardened clay tops, are great at taking away water and moisture and awful at keeping it. Trying to "just plant more trees" addresses a symptom of lack of water, but not the core issue. Fruit trees in particular tend to need lots of water

[@belesariius]

@@BariumBlue well said - everything follows from having enough water - putting organic material in the ground, then small cover, then trees - all classic permacutlure. I wonder what they are getting told.

[@priestesslucy]

@@belesariius they're probably being told to bring water from their wells for the trees every day. Problem is without water harvesting, eventually the trees will outgrow the water that can be carried in a single trip and it becomes an excessive burden. Would be so much better to dig out water harvesting features.

[@belesariius]

@@priestesslucy Yea, when you think of how much better their infrastructure would be - if they did local retention and harvesting at elevation to refill the water table. That minister, give nthat he is a expert, should really know that kind of thing- i wonder if he gets commission from tree companies ;)

[@alphabarrie8403]

They should avoid burning.

[@mensilak]

Insulting ! the small France still making himself big over Africa Issues !

[@governmentxx1896]

There's so much I've learned in this video 💯💯💕💕

[@สมมติไม่มีตัวตน]

เก่งมาก เยี่ยมมาก มนุษย์คือที่สุดของโลกแล้วค่ะ สามารถทำในสิ่งที่ท้าทายธรรมชาติได้

[@Zyragonn]

I love the fact that everyone skips macaron speech

[@LouiseBrooksBob]

Where's all the water going to come from? Can the water be extracted sustainably?

[@rogerpolito1660]

they should plants shrubs and grasses in between to prevent evaporation on exposed or barren spaces in between the trees

[@Sabrisams]

Great job. Go to the green world. Well done for the hardwork team.

[@davycp100]

Thank you for this news we must create hope for our world

[@barakmoss1691]

Look at the numbers in Eritrea at 9:40 that is mind blowing in comparison to the rest of the countries. Especially taking into consideration population size 🇪🇷🦾🇪🇷🦾🇪🇷🦾🇪🇷🦾🇪🇷🦾

[@khadeejarahman8372]

Thanks so much cause and of course you definitely brought back some of those memories of centuries gone past! Vous allez bien tou le monde et Merci Beaucoup! Khadeeja Alghali-Rahman(Londre, Anglais)

[@mariyaatanasova1556]

Never seen people so happy to receive tree.

[@alphabarrie8403]

Get the fullanies to do most of the planting they are part of the problems too.

[@irenedavo3768]

Who?

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

that's a wall i can support

[@longschlong3502]

"Everyone brought their horse" 😐 ... You can tell these gentlemen don't just bring out Thier horses just to go buy bread it must be a serious occasion !

[@thekorsh4230]

Growing fruit tree's in the Caribbean is a huge thing Growing up its still happening, don't understand how Africa people lost their drive to plant

[@mauricemilesmartinez3743]

I am author of the books: The Great Wall of Africa: The Empire of Benin’s 10,000 Mile Long Wall, The Real Wakandas of Africa and The Real Vibranium of Africa (by Maurice Miles Martinez). While the modern 4,800 mile planned Great Green Wall is a great idea for the African continent, most people are unaware that African people built a wall before transatlantic slavery that is more than twice as long as the modern Green wall. At 10,000 miles long, the Great Wall of Africa contains more material than all of the buildings in New York City’s Manhattan. If cut into 1 meter high blocks, it would wrap around the equator more than 65 times! It is arguably the planet’s greatest man-made structure. Yet, it has been ignored by historians. In my book The Great Wall of Africa: The Empire of Benin’s 10,000 Mile Long Wall, I explore the dimensions of the wall, the history of the Benin Empire’s Kings (Obas) and the stolen Benin Bronzes. These treasures that sit in the world’s museums amount to more than $14 Billion. Most people who read this book are left wondering why they never heard about the Great Wall of Africa in their history classes. Maurice Miles Martinez

[@SvetlanaBatobolotovna]

It would be great to watch your book through videos playlist❤

[@mauricemilesmartinez3743]

Please listen to my weekly podcast: The Real Wakandas of Africa (available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts) by Maurice Miles Martinez (MC Brotha Miles) to hear me read my books. The podcast has the same name of one of my books: The Real Wakandas of Africa and I read from some of my books on the podcast. While the entire books are available for purchase on Amazon, I often discuss topics from my books (like the Great Wall of Africa: The Empire of Benin’s 10,000 Mile Long Wall) and read portions of them. To add to this, I recite an original poem or rap song that I write about the weekly topic I discuss about Africa and the African diaspora. Moreover, I speak in various voices of famous Black leaders including Dr. King and Malcolm X. If you listen to the first minute of the podcast, you will hear how it is different (just from the introduction). Thank you again for your request. Maurice Miles Martinez

[@kenhunt5153]

Very interesting. Thanks. Good luck with the wall.

[@theadventuresofbrockinthai4325]

If you want to protect your trees and plants that can feed you, build your houses around the area that have planted. That way no one can steal your food. As your village grows and you need more land, you take down the houses on one side and move them until you have enough new land to plant and support the new children. A side benefit is that you don't have to walk far to work the fields, they will be right outside your door.

[@graffic13]

Imagine if they started growing Hemp fields along with trees! .... they could actually use it for paper and textiles and plastics ....

[@herbertlandschmid3012]

and to smoke it

[@certaindeath7776]

hemp needs good soil and a decent amount of rain. it wont grow in most sahel regions.

[@Dutch_Uncle]

The lambasting of grazing animals is a bit too broad brush. Much of the land used for grazing is too rocky, too steep, too cut up with creeks, or too inconveniently shaped by property lines and roads to be useable for crop land. There is also a distinction between grazing animals which go for grass, and browsers which want twigs and woody plants. Sheep and cows graze, but deer, moose, and elk browse, to include residential shrubbery and recently planted flowers if they feel so motivated and have the opportunity. Goats take whatever they can get. In spite of the wishes of suburbanites, nothing is really "deer proof" since deer will eat just about anything if they get hungry enough, as they do when there is a population explosion. Animal husbandry has been practiced since biblical times, and the consequences of overgrazing have also been known since then. When land is not privately held there is an understandable temptation to try to get as much as possible for personal use out of commons land in the form of wood and grass. This is a disaster for soil stewardship a cause of desertification and refugee flows.

[@theeraphatsunthornwit6266]

These wall cant work without constant supply of irrigation. Plant do not create rain. Rain create plant

[@mohamedwarsame1269]

Marshallah they did Great job 👏, but is better to teach How to produce the 🌳