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02-13-2008

Africa: A “green wall” against desertification

Senegal - A Pan-African conference on tackling desertification opened in Mbour, Department of Mbour, Senegal, presided over by Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. He’s discussing an ambitious plan, formulated by Nigeria’s former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2005, to plant a “Great Green Wall” - a thin strip of vegetation nourished by a series of irrigation basins — running some 7000 km from Djibouti to Senegal. Representatives of 11 countries will plan the nuts-and-bolts financing of the project. Its goal is to hold back the encroachment of the Sahara Desert and reduce the loss of biodiversity in the Sahel region.    - summary by Louise Shaler

Source: La Stampa by Original Language: Italian