Papa Ibnou Ndiaye is a doctor in the Department of Animal Biology of the Faculty of Sciences and Technologies of the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakkar, Senegal, as well as a Hommes-Milieux Téssékéré Observatory member. In his talk, he will develop the Great Green Wall project, a flagship initiative in Africa to help combat the effects of climate change and desertification.
The Sahel extends south of the Sahara, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in east Africa. Today, due to droughts, poor agricultural cultivation methods, and excessive land use because of the increasing food and firewood demand, vast areas of what was once a fertile and productive region are virtually uncultivated.
To try to reverse this situation, as well as the continuous desertification development throughout the area, in 2007 an initiative led by the African Union had the idea of planting a line of acacias, occupying a total space of 8,000 kilometers long and 15 thick. This would cross 11 African countries, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, restoring approximately 100 million hectares of land.
During the conference, Dr. Ibnou will tell us about his involvement in restoring degraded ecosystems in the Sahel and the OHMi Tessekere observatory implication as scientific support. In this framework, he will also expose the great diversity of wild birds and mammals that inhabit Ferlo (northern Senegal) and the need to create this Great Green Wall to protect and conserve them.
