# Great Green Wall Initiative

> African Union-led effort to restore 100 million hectares across the Sahel by 2030

Source: https://treerm.org/org/great-green-wall-initiative · Updated 2026-11-07 · Data license: CC BY 4.0 (https://treerm.org/about#license)

## Facts

- Type: Coalition / initiative
- Scope: Regional
- Headquarters: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Founded: 2007
- Website: https://www.unccd.int/our-work/ggwi
- Events calendar: https://www.unccd.int/events
- Countries where they plant: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Senegal, Chad
- Activity types: Afforestation (primary), Reforestation, Agroforestry

## About

The Great Green Wall Initiative was launched by the African Union in 2007 and is coordinated with the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall (APGMV), established in 2010 in N'Djamena. It aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon and create 10 million green jobs across the Sahel by 2030, with implementation by national agencies in participating countries. A 2020 UNCCD status report found about 4 million hectares restored within the core intervention zones, or roughly 18 million hectares when counting the wider region. Progress figures are compiled from national reporting and are not independently audited.

## Metrics

> Note: Progress figures come from the 2020 UNCCD status report and cover work by many countries and partners. The initiative publishes no single running total.

| Metric | Year | Value | Cumulative | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|---|
| Hectares restored | 2020 | 4,000,000 | yes (to date) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.unccd.int/resources/unccd-library/africas-great-green-wall-officially-4-and-unofficially-18-complete) UNCCD status report 'The Great Green Wall: Implementation Status and Way Ahead to 2030' (Sept 2020): about 4 million hectares rehabilitated within the strict intervention zones, 4% of the 100 million ha target. Based on national reporting, not independently audited. Independent assessment: Deng, Hao and Qu, 'A Preliminary Assessment of Land Restoration Progress in the Great Green Wall Initiative Region Using Satellite Remote Sensing Measurements', Remote Sensing 16(23):4461, 28 Nov 2024, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16234461, finds from 2000-2024 satellite data that deserts along the GGW are retreating and regional mean NDVI is rising despite slightly falling rainfall, with strong spatial variation; it produces no hectare count |

Confidence: self-reported is the organization's own published figure; independently verified means a third party confirmed it; estimated means TreeRM derived it and the note says how.

JSON: https://treerm.org/api/v1/organizations/great-green-wall-initiative