In 2007, the African Heads of State and Governments endorsed the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI) with the objective of tackling the detrimental social, economic and environmental impacts of land degradation and desertification in the region.

This African Union programme brings together 20 countries from the northern and southern stripes of the Sahara as well as regional and international organisations. The GGWSSI Initiative promotes  a mosaic of integrated interventions addressing the multiple challenges affecting local populations’ lives in a long term perspective. It is in line with major development frameworks (Strategic programmes of the African Union of combating poverty and ensuring environmental sustainability, Environment Initiative of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, and the Millennium Development Goals).

The African Union Commission, the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Bank and the European Commission are partnering to support the GGWSSI implementation and are  co-organising this side-event.

The heart of the side-event will be dedicated to the achievements reached by the GGWSSI and the best ways and means to attract more partners and boost the implementation of the initiative. To this end, the side-event will provide a platform:

 •    to  showcase the on-going partnerships for the implementation of the Initiative, highlighting the complementarities and harmonisation amongst partner's interventions;

 •     to share and strengthen a common vision amongst stakeholders based on the Regional Harmonized Strategy for the implementation of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative;; and

 • to build a wider collaborative partnership/Alliance  for the implementation of the GGWSSI with the view to effectively use this Initiative as the African flagship programme contributing to a Land Degradation neutral world.

The Regional Harmonized Strategy developed by the AUC and its member states with the technical and financial support of EU, FAO and the GM-UNCCD was adopted by the last AU Summit, based on a recommendation from the AMCEN 14th session (Decision 14/7). The side-event will bring together focal points from Sahelo-Saharan region as well as some of the main partners of this initiative gathering regional and international organisations partner of the Initiative.

 Expected Speakers: Representative of the African Union Commission; Representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization; Representative of the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD ; Representative of the European Union Commission; Representative of the World Bank; Representative of the GEF Secretariat.

Contacts:

François TAPSOBA, African Union Commission/FAO,

Phone no.: +251 930 014 554,

E-mail address: [email protected]

and

Inès CHAALALA, The Global Mechanism of the UNCCD,

Phone no.: 0039 06 54 59 26 47,

E-mail address: [email protected]