Regional Launch of SURAGGWA: USD 222 Million to Strengthen Climate Resilience in the Sahel

Nouakchott, Mauritania - 15 December 2025 - The Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall (PA-GGW), officially launched the regional programme– Strengthening Resilience of Africa’s Great Green Wall (SURAGGWA) on Monday in Nouakchott.

Approved in July 2025 by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the UN’s financial mechanism dedicated to combating climate change, the programme mobilizes a total investment of USD 222 million, including USD 150 million in GCF grants and USD 72 million in co-financing, including contributions of the eight participating and benefiting Sahelian countries: i.e. Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria  and Senegal.

 A strong political commitment for Sahel

In his opening remarks, Salah Eddine Ould El Abass, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, representing the Mauritanian Government, emphasized the programme’s strategic importance for the Sahel region.

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this important regional meeting, held in an environmental context marked by intensifying climate challenges in the Sahel. These challenges have become a matter of sovereignty, closely linked to security, stability and the development trajectories of our countries. In this context, the Great Green Wall initiative represents a major political and strategic choice, adopted by African States as a common framework to strengthen resilience and promote integrated sustainable development in the region.” he stated.

A transformative programme led by FAO

For FAO, SURAGGWA marks a key milestone in supporting Sahelian countries to address climate change impacts. Jean Sènahoun, FAO Representative in Mauritania, explained that the programme is built on three components: Landscape restoration through agroecological and agroforestry practices to rehabilitate productivity of degraded lands at scale; Development of non-timber forest products’ (NTFP) value chains, improving sustainable production, market access, strengthening technical skills and promoting financial inclusion for smallholders, especially women; and Capacity strengthening of the Panafrican and National Agencies of the Great Green Wall to enhance planning, monitoring, coordination and resource mobilization at national and regional levels.

Building on this approach, Bintia Stephen-Tchicaya, FAO Subregional Coordinator for West Africa, stressed the ultimate goal: “Beyond the numbers, our real success will be the positive and lasting transformation within the daily lives of communities. Together, let’s make the Sahel a greener and more resilient space.”

 A major contribution to the Great Green Wall initiative

Almoustapha Garba, Executive Secretary of PA-GGW, highlighted the programme’s strategic alignment with continental objectives: “The current enthusiasm and interest shown by member countries clearly demonstrate the importance of SURAGGWA as a model and solution for strengthening the resilience of Sahelian populations against climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss.”

An exemplary partnership with the Green Climate Fund

The GCF’s support was hailed as a strong signal for the Sahel: “The approval of SURAGGWA by the Green Climate Fund reflects the confidence placed in Sahelian countries and their partners. This financing will generate large-scale climate, environmental and socio-economic impacts,” said Gabriel Boc, GCF Representative.

Concrete impacts expected

The programme aims to restore 1.3 million hectares of degraded land, improve the living conditions and resilient livelihoods of 5.7 million people and sequester 65 million tonnes of carbon-equivalent. SURAGGWA will directly contribute to the Great Green Wall initiative’s 2030 targets, which are to restore 100 million hectares, create 10 million green jobs and sequester 250 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

Strengthened regional governance

The launch was followed on 16 December 2025 by the first session of the Regional Steering Committee meeting, the strategic body responsible for guiding implementation, ensuring regional coordination and aligning the SURAGGWA programme with the Ten-Year Priority Investment Plan 2021-2030 of the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall.