Rome -  As FAO celebrates World Day to Combat Desertification calling for urgent action to achieve a land degradation-neutral world, the onset of the rainy season in the Sahel allows local communities to start planting trees, shrubs and grasses as part of large-scale land restoration efforts organised under FAO’s Action Against Desertification programme.

This year, FAO plans to restore 10 000 hectares of degraded land in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Gambia, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal using an approach that puts people at the heart of restoration by focusing on their needs for useful species that can support their livelihoods.

Based on a successfully tested and scientifically recognised model, these efforts show that land degradation around the Sahara is not yet irreversible. At the same time, they are the perfect illustration of collaborative efforts by FAO and partners to halt desertification by addressing its root causes and engaging people.

Action Against Desertification is an African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) initiative in support of Africa’s Great Green Wall with the financial support of the European Union.

Video’s

• Eduardo Mansur, Director of FAO’s Land and Water Division, on World Day to Combat Desertification
• Sergio Zelaya Bonilla, Senior Land and Water Officer, on desertification and land degradation
• Nora Berrahmouni, Forestry Officer, on the FAO’s efforts to stop desertification