The Great Green Wall aims to restore 100 million hectares of land by 2030. But what about the claim that it is a ‘green wall visible from space’?
It sounds like one of the most ambitious environmental projects ever conceived: a green belt approximately 8,000 kilometres long, stretching from Senegal to Djibouti, intended to curb land degradation around the Sahara.
The Great Green Wall is no myth. It is a real African Union initiative, launched in 2007, that now connects activities in more than 20 African countries. UNCCD
There is, however, a significant misconception.
They are not planting a continuous wall of trees
The original idea did suggest a vast belt of vegetation along the Sahel. Today, however, the programme has developed into something much broader.
It is not an uninterrupted row of trees. It includes reforestation, natural regeneration of vegetation, soil restoration, water management, sustainable agriculture and income generation for local communities. The Green Climate Fund notes that the original concept of a belt of vegetation became a multisectoral landscape-restoration programme. Green Climate Fund
The frequent claim that a ‘living wall visible from space’ is being created should therefore be treated as a striking metaphor rather than a literal description.
The enormous target for 2030
The official targets are impressive: by 2030, the programme aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon and create 10 million jobs. UNCCD
The picture of progress is less straightforward. UNCCD’s 2026 report records 1.66 million hectares under restoration, 4.6 million jobs and 24 million tonnes of CO₂ sequestered in the data that can currently be verified through the harmonised monitoring system. UNCCD
UNCCD itself explains that these figures come from fewer than 90 of the 389 recorded projects, as many do not yet have complete, comparable data. These numbers therefore do not represent all the work that has been done. UNCCD
Africa is not literally building a green Great Wall of China. It is attempting something perhaps more difficult: restoring entire ecosystems while giving the communities living there an economic reason to preserve them.
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Yes. It is an African Union initiative launched in 2007.
Approximately. The 8,000 kilometres describe the initiative’s geographical reach from western to eastern Africa, rather than a continuous line of trees.
Not as one continuous ‘green wall’. That description is mainly used symbolically.
The main targets are set for 2030, although in 2026 the African Union is already promoting a strategy for 2024–2034, recognising that this is a long-term undertaking.
Main sources: UNCCD, African Union, FAO and Green Climate Fund. The most recent substantive source is UNCCD’s 2026 report reviewing five years of the Great Green Wall Accelerator.
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