World Federation of Scientists49th International Seminar Session

Erice, August 23rd 2016, Majorana Centre

NEW MANHATTAN PROJECTSCIENCE FOR PEACE THE WORLD OVER

Planetary Emergency :

CONTENTS

• Context• Objectives• Workprogram• Expectedimpacts• Communicationactivities• Conclusion

CONTEXT

• Desertification has emerged as a “major planetary threat”with particularly daunting challenges for Africa.

• Climate change has led to prolonged periods of drought andother symptoms of desertification, which are beingexperienced by a growingnumber of countries.

• The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports thattwo-thirds of the African continent is classified as desertor dry lands.

• Rainy seasons and other weather patterns — longconsistent– are now changing across the region.

• The UN estimates that two-thirds of Africa’s arable land couldbe lost by 2025 if this trend continues.

• In the Sahelian zone (annual rain fall around 200 mm), drought andanthropic factors provoke degradation of vegetation cover anddecrease of soil fertility.

• The Panafrican project of the Green Great Wall (GGW) A “wall oftrees” is being constructed to « green » and combat poverty,degradation of soils and desertification.

• 11 nations— Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria,Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti — have agreed toparticipate in The GGW project, for planting trees on a strip of landof 4,300 miles long and 9 miles wide from Dakar (Senegal) in thewest to Djibouti in the east of Africa.

• The project was approved by the African Union in 2007, under theumbrella of the Communityof the Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD).

• The Great Green Wall has received a total of $1.8 billion from theWorld Bank and another $108 million from the Global EnvironmentFacility.

CONTEXT(cont.)

TheGGWprojectfromDakar(Senegal)intheWesttoDjiboutiintheEastofAfrica.

CONTEXT(Cont.)• In 2008, the first trees were planted along the wall’s path. Two

million trees are planted in Senegal each year during the short rainyseason (July to September).

• Nevertheless, the project is already showing some success: a WorldFood Program (WFP) reports how the village of Widou Thiengolilocated in Senegal is now harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables inirrigated orchards.

• The GGW project could serve as a model for similar projects aroundthe world such as central Asia, which face similar challenges inadapting to a rapidly changing climate.

• The Great Green Wall initiative is supported by the UN EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP), the World Food Programme (WFP) , the UNConvention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the UN-backedGlobal Environment Facility (GEF) – the largest public funder of UNenvironmental projects.

OBJECTIVESv Generalobjectives:• Tofightagainstdesertification.• Todevelopandmanagesustainablythenaturalresourcesofthe

Sahelo-Sahelianzonetofightagainstpoverty.v Specificobjectives:• To reforest by planting local trees (e.g. Acacia senegal, Balanites,

Zizyphus mauritiana called jujube) to maintain moisture in the airand soil, reduce erosion, enhance biodiversity and provide newgrazing land and products at high added value (e.g. arabic gum ).

• Tocontributetoareassuranceofthepastoralandagro-pastoralsystemsofbreedingbyarationalenvironment-friendlyandpastoralmanagementoftheresources.

• Topromoteirrigatedorchardsoffruittrees(e.g.jujubes)andvegetables(e.g.onion)asasourceoffoodandincomeforsmallholderfarmers.

• VillageofWidouThiengoli locatedinSenegalisnowharvestingfreshfruitsandvegetablesin

irrigatedorchards

WorkProgram

• 1/ Strengthening the capacity of adaptation to climate changethrough an improved management in plantations and défensThe reforested surfaces represent at the moment 40 227 ha andthe zones of Putting défens cover a surface of 13 000 ha. The mainplanted species are: Acacia nilotica, Acacia raddiana, Acacia seyal,Acacia Senegal, Balanites aegyptiaca, Zizyphus mauritiana.

- Estimation of the potentialities carbon sequestration at the levels oftree species and populations.

- Evaluation of growth and productivity of forest plantations (e.g.arabic gum, fruits) by exploiting the genetic diversity and adaptationof trees in drougth stress condition.

WorkProgram(Cont.)

• 2/ Improvement of the fodder production- Estimation of the fodder potentialities of good food valuesoffered in the GGW, by determining the best periods ofexploitation, for contributing significantly to raise the foodconstraint of animals by the improvement of the availability forthe livestock and the promotionof the fodder reserves;

- Estimationoftheproductivityandthegrowthofplantationsandthenaturalligneousplantationsputindéfensthankstoacontinuous forestinventory;

- Helping the GGW Project to get the scientific and rigorous basesfor the appropriate development of plantations and forest massifsclosed to grazing animals.

3/Improvementofthefruitproduction• Theplantationsofhighaddedvaluespecies(improvedBalanites,

improvedjujubier,tamarin…)• The forest research developed programs of improvement of the food

and medicinal forest species to fight the poverty and to protect theenvironment in soudano-Sahelian zone. Among these plantssuccessful individuals were selected and multiplied and will beintroduced with technological packages of management of the forestfruit trees . The main targeted species are:

- Zizyphusmauritiana- Tamarindusindica- Balanitesaegyptiaca• TheopportunitiesofcollaborationwiththeInstituteofFood

Technology(ITA)willbeusedfortheimprovementofthetraditionaltechniquesofpreservationandtransformationofthefruitsinparticular.

WorkProgram(Cont.)

– National Agency of the GreatGreen Wall ( ANGMV)

– Senegalese Institute forAgricultural Research (ISRA)

– National Agency of the ScientificApplied Research (ANRSA)

– Cheikh Anta Diop Dakar University(UCAD) :

• Dept. of Plant Biology• Dept. of Animal Biology

– Institute of Food Technology(ITA)

– Research Institute for theDevelopment (IRD/LSTM UMR113)

Plotunder Solee toKOYLIAlpha(Mboula Village)

Partnersoftheproject

TimelineACTIVITIES INSTITUTIONS YEAR

1YEAR2

YEAR3

Strengthening thecapacityofadaptationtoClimate changethroughanimprovedmanagement byplantations anddefens

GreatGreenWallNationalAgency

X X X

CharacterizationofplantationsandevaluationoftheCarbonsequestration (Methodologyandquantification accordingtothespecies)

-GreatGreenWallNationalAgency-Senegalese Institute forAgriculturalResearch-UniversityCheikhAntaDiopofDakar

X X X

Studyofthedynamicsofgrowth,theproductivityofplantations,evaluationoftheproductionandthequalityofthegum.

-GreatGreenWallNationalAgency-NationalAgencyofAppliedScientificResearch

X X X

Timeline(Cont.)ACTIVITIES INSTITUTIONS YEAR

1YEAR2

YEAR3

Implementationofplantationswithhighaddedvalue(improvedBalanites,improvedjujubier,tamarin).

-GreatGreenWallNationalAgency-Senegalese Institute forAgriculturalResearch- ResearchInstituteforthedevelopement/LSTMUMR113

X X X

Improvementofthefodderproduction(herbaceousandligneousfodder)forafoodsafetyofthecattle(production,preservation)

-GreatGreenWallNationalAgency-Senegalese Institute forAgriculturalResearch-NationalAgencyofAppliedScientificResearch

X X X

Improvementofthetruck-farmingandfruitproductionbythetrainingthroughdemonstrationinthemulti-purposegardensorthefieldschools

-GreatGreenWallNationalAgency-Senegalese Institute forAgriculturalResearch-NationalAgencyofAppliedScientific

X X X

Timeline(Cont.)ACTIVITIES INSTITUTIONS YEAR

1YEAR2

YEAR3

Valuationofthelocalforestfruiterersforthefoodsafetyandthegenerationofincomeofthepopulations.

-GreatGreenWallNationalAgency(GGWNA)-Senegalese Institute forAgriculturalResearch(ISRA)-NationalAgencyofAppliedScientificResearch(ANRSA)-InstituteofFoodTechnology(ITA)

X X X

CharacterizationoftheplantandanimalbiodiversityinthevarioussitesinthesphereofinfluenceoftheGGW.

-GreatGreenWallNationalAgency(GGWNA)-CheikhAntaDiopUniversityofDakar(UCAD)-NationalParcDirection(NPD)

X X X

Implementationofaplatformofexchangeanddiffusionoftheinnovations.

-GreatGreenWallNationalAgency(GGWNA)-Senegalese Institute forAgriculturalResearch(ISRA)-NationalAgencyofAppliedScientificResearch(ANRSA)ResearchInstituteforthedevelopement/LSTMUMR113

- X X

Expectedimpacts

• This form of natural regeneration benefits local communitiesand the global environment alike by increasing crop yield,improving soil fertility, reducing land erosion, improvingfodder availability, diversifying income, cutting woodcollection time for women, strengthening resilience to climatechange, increasingbiodiversity, and muchmore.

• ProgressisapparentespeciallyintheZinderregionofNiger,wheretreedensityhassignificantlyimprovedsincethemid-1980s.

Expectedimpacts(Cont.)

• Toimproveland-useplanning,suchasatwatershedscale(i.e.Nigeria)orlocallevels(i.e.grazingreserves).

• To improve and apply the information base: climate and watermonitoring network improvements, ICT (informationcommunication technology) innovations, institutionalcooperation within and across countries, and evidence basedpolicy development.

TIME FRAME & OBJECTIVES

19

36months

• Implementationofplantations

• Laboratorywork• Characterizationofplant

andanimalbiodiversity• Improvmentoffood

production

• Disseminationofresults

Communicationactivities

• Workshops:oneperyear• Advertising• Fieldsvisits• Publications

GGWindicativelayout:a 4,300mile«walloftrees»,adefenseagainstrapid,expanding

desertificationoftheSahara

CONCLUSION

Nine (09) years of implementing the program have helped draw,among others, some lessons, major needs or keys to success:

• The ambition to cover 7,000 Km of the GGW length requires thepromotion and coordination of successfull small scale initiatives,by « thinking globally and acting locally »;

• Strongpolitical will is a key challenge;

• Sustainability is integrated from the outset, built and strengthenedas the project is moving from the simplest to the most complexactivities, with lessons learnt from sucesses as well as newchallenges.

CONCLUSION(Cont.)

• Involvement and empowerment of populations, mainly women andyouth, remain at the core of thinkingand action;

• The goal is to help mitigate the environmental effects of climatechange, includingtheexpansionof desertification;

• The trees will act as a barrier against desert winds, help to holdmoisture in the air and soil, reduce erosion, enhance biodiversity,provide new grazing land and be a source of vegetation. The projectis also recognized for the role it will play in local agriculture andemployment.

• The research undertaken through the NMP will improve thescientific approach in the plant species and the globalmanagementof this continentalproject.

THANKYOU

Contacts:Colonel(Ret.)MbareckDIOP:mbareck@gmail.comColonelAbdourahmaneTAMBA:abtamba@hotmail.com -ColonelPapeWaly GUEYE:pwgueye@yahoo.fPrAmadouBA:Amadou.ba@ird.fr