Introduction
Great Green Wall (GGW) Initiative is the most recent and ambitious reforestation program to emerge in the Sahel region. Its origins can be traced back to Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso’s President from 1983 to 1987, who led efforts to combat desertification in his own country (Reenberg, 2012). In 2005, his ideas were resurrected by Olusegun Obasanjo, then the President of Nigeria, at the 7th summit of the leaders and Heads of State of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), and were strongly supported by the former President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade. His support translated into significant national investments from the beginning, placing Senegal, even today, in the strategic position as pioneer of the GGW. In 2007, the GGW was officially adopted by the 11 founding members at the conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (Deborah et al., 2019).
National Agency for Great Green Wall
The “Pan African Agency for Great Green Wall” (PAGGW) was established to collaborate with member states to implement a green belt of trees stretching about 8000km long and 15km wide from Djibouti in East Africa to Senegal in West Africa. African Union member countries were encouraged to domesticate the initiative and drive the implementation process. As a member, Nigeria resumed the initiative process in 2012. Through the Federation of Nigeria's laws, the “National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) was established on 27th May 2015. The Agency is mandated to manage and reverse desert encroachment in Nigeria's frontline states through regional, sub-regional, and international collaboration (NAGGW, 2015).
The Implementation of Great Green Wall Initiative
The operations and implementation process of the GGW initiative by the NAGGW Nigeria began in 2015 with a take-off grant of Ten billion naira approved by the former President of the federal republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. The grant was utilized to continue with the implementation process and intervention programs until 2017, when the agency became part of the federal government budget appropriation. The Agency is structured into five departments mandated to achieve the Pan-African GGW initiative through various operational units. Efficacy of the NAGGW Nigeria is structured in a way that there is a governing council that provides policy direction for the agency, the state implementation committee that coordinates the programs in the frontline states, and the local government committee that takes the program at the local government and community level. The Agency should targets the restoration of degraded land and ecosystem by creating mosaic green wall of trees or shelter belts from Kebbi State in northwest Nigeria to Borno State in northeast part. (NAGGW, 2015).
Challenges Derailing GGWI Implementation Process in Nigeria
The implementation process of the GGW in Nigeria come with certain glitches. The issue of insecurity by the activities of the insurgent group Boko Haram and banditry in the operation area pose a great challenge. Chikaodili, (2020) uncovered the paucity of funds and the challenge this poses for achieving the target objectives of the program. The funds were not enough to implement the designed intervention programs of the agency because the funds were domiciled with the federal ministry of environment and demand long protocol for the release of the funds. This intently delayed the intervention programs of NAGGW. The intention of the Nigerian government to reduce the ecological funds accessed by the NAGGW from 15% to 5% is also a serious challenge. Presently there was a debacle at the Nigeria national assembly because of the alleged misappropriation of funds worth hundreds of thousands by the former management of the NAGGW Nigeria (Morrison, 2023).
Way Forward
Effective restoration efforts require policy and decision-makers commitment through the provisions of appropriate policies, governing mechanisms, and financial incentives. Collaboration and partnership can break the puzzle of funding challenges and reduce the NAGGW's complete dependency on the federal government allocation. When the government priority is on environmental action through good governance and relevant intervention programs such as the GGW implementation process, sustainability of the environment and livelihood will be achieved.
By Sahal Muhammad Inuwa
References
Chikaodili Orakwue (2022). At the Frontline of Land Restoration and Sustainable Livelihood: An Analysis of the Implementation of Nigeria’s Great Green Wall. International Institute of Social Sciences, the Netherlands.
Deborah Goffner, Hanna Sinare and Line J. Gordon (2019). The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative as an opportunity to enhance resilience in Sahelian landscapes and livelihoods. Regional Environmental Change. 19:1417–1428 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-019-01481-z
Morrison J (2023). The Great Green Wall didn’t stop desertification, but it evolved into something that might. Smithsonian.com
NAGGW, (2015). National Agency for the Great Green wall (establishment) Act no 3, 2015. Laws of the Federation of Nigeria. [Online] Available: www.LawNigeria.com
Reenberg A. (2012). Insistent Dry land Narratives: portraits of knowledge about human-environmental interactions in Sahelian environment policy documents. West African Journal of Applied Ecology. 20:97–111
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