All posts by CPNN Coordinator

About CPNN Coordinator

Dr David Adams is the coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, proclaimed for the Year 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly.

Dakar: International Post-Forum Seminar on Peace and Security in Africa

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from 7sur7 Senegal (translation by CPNN)

Senegal today [25 juin] hosted the Dakar International Post-Forum Seminar on Peace and Security in Africa. The seminar is organized as part of a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese and the Center for Higher Studies of Defense and Security (CHEDS) of Senegal. This year it is focused on the theme: “Prevention and fight against against violent extremism: what are the people’s responses? ”


Horchani Ferhat

Professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Tunis, Horchani Ferhat, in his introductory presentation, explained the reasons for the failure of the international community in the fight against terrorism. This failure, according to him, is reflected at least on three levels.

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(Click here for the original French version of this article.)

Question for this article

Islamic extremism, how should it be opposed?

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The first is the dramatic increase in terrorist groups. According to him, the number of terrorist groups is growing with different names in different localities.

The second level is that, according to Professor Ferhat, the current terrorist groups (Islamic State, Daesch) have broader ambitions than mere terror. They have territorial and political ambitions.

Regarding the third level of failure, the professor reports that these groups are able to attract a large number of young people across national borders. The threat is transnational, even transcontinental.

For the professor, this relative failure of the international community, despite all the money that has been spent, requires another approach. “We can not go on like this,” said Professor Horchani Ferhat, thinking that we need a better approach to the phenomenon of terrorism. The objective should be to eradicate not only what is visible but to root out the evil at its roots.

“We need a real strategy, and this strategy needs to be global and multifaceted, which means that it must involve not only the State but also the national communities, that is to say the general populations”, he stressed. He also recalled that the phenomenon of terrorism is very complex and can have very different motivations. It can, in his opinion, have its source in crime, the drug trade, the search for easy money, radicalization, social and economic exclusion, and absolute poverty, among others.

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Canada and partners announce historic investment in education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article on the web page of The Prime Minister of Canada

Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a top priority for Canada and its G7 Presidency. To make gender equality a reality, all women and girls around the world must have equal access to quality education and learning opportunities. When women and girls have an equal chance to learn, grow, and succeed, they help build an economy that works for everyone.

Canada, along with the European Union, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the World Bank, today announced an investment of close to $3.8 billion CAD, marking a fundamental shift toward improving access and reducing barriers to quality education around the world. Today’s announcement represents the single largest investment in education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations. It has the potential to make a difference in the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable women and girls.


Prime Minister Trudeau participates in the working session of the G7. Photo by Adam Scotti (CPM)

These investments will support global action to:

* Equip women and girls with the skills needed for the jobs of the future

* Improve training for teachers to provide better curriculum for women and girls

* Improve the quality of available data on women’s and girls’ education

* Promote greater coordination between humanitarian and development partners

* Support innovative education methods, especially for vulnerable and hard to reach groups, including refugees and displaced people

* Support developing countries in efforts to provide equal opportunities for girls to complete at least 12 years of quality education, from primary to secondary school

Canada will work with these partners along with others to support women’s and girls’ education around the world. They will also make sure the voices of women and girls are included when decisions are made on education and employment.

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(Click here for the French version)

Question for this article

Gender equality in education, Is it advancing?

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Quote

“We need to work together to ensure all women and girls have access to quality education and modern skills training. From primary school to secondary school and beyond, women and girls in crisis and conflict situations must have the same opportunities to succeed. Investing in their education is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do. Given the chance, we know women and girls will drive positive change, and help build better lives for themselves, their families, their communities, and, in turn, the world.”

—The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Quick Facts

Of the total funding announced today, international partners committed to make the following investments:

* Canada is investing $400 million CAD over three years, in addition to the $180 million we provided in January 2018 to the Global Partnership for Education for 2018-2020.

* The European Union is investing 72 million euros over three years.

* Germany is investing 75 million euros.

* Japan is investing $200 million USD in girl’s and women’s quality education, including in emergencies or in conflict-affected or fragile states.

* The United Kingdom is investing £187 million, which builds on Prime Minister May’s announcement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April when she pledged £212 million to get almost one million girls in developing countries across the Commonwealth learning.

* The World Bank is investing $2 billion USD over five years.

In February 2018, France committed to provide 200 million euros to the Global Partnership for Education to support girls’ education and help strengthen education systems in developing countries.

At the end of 2016, globally there were 65.5 million forcibly displaced people, over half of whom were under 18 years of age, with little to no access to quality education and learning opportunities.

Girls are more likely to be taken out of school due to displacement-related poverty, more likely to be forced into early marriage, and are disproportionately affected by gender and sexual-based violence.

Canada holds the G7 Presidency for 2018, and is advancing domestic and international priorities framed under the following five key themes:

* Investing in growth that works for everyone

* Preparing for jobs of the future

* Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment

* Working together on climate change, oceans, and clean energy

* Building a more peaceful and secure world

(Thank you to the Good News Agency for calling this article to our attention)

global, North America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

South Korea reactions after Trump-Kim summit

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

An article from Deutsche Welle (reprinted by permission)

One day after the historic summit between North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, there are a mix of reactions in South Korea.

The initial results of local elections taking place on Wednesday with the inner-Korean rapprochement in the background showed positive outcomes for the governing Minjoo party.

14 out of 17 mayoral posts and 10 of 12 parliamentary seats up for election went to Minjoo candidates. The results could considered be a vote of confidence for President Moon Jae-in’s North Korea policy.

Among South Korean conservatives, however, there is a growing feeling of disillusionment after Trump and Kim signed a letter of intent. For them, the potential denuclearization of North Korea now seems farther off than ever before.

Nam Sung-wook from Korea University was quoted in the largest South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo as saying the “complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament is no longer a question.”

“Scam of the century”

A major point of contention is Trump’s statement suspending US-South Korean military maneuvers, citing them as “expensive and provocative war games.” There are concerns that the longstanding military alliance between the US and South Korea could be weakened.

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Question for this article:

Can Korea be reunified in peace?

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Professor Park Won-gon from Handong Global University told DW that the letter of intent was “the biggest scam of the century that fulfilled 99 percent of North Korea’s wishes.”

In the US, major media outlets also reacted with concern after the summit. The New York Times wrote “North Korea is a nuclear power, get used to it.”

Joseph Yun, a foremost Korea expert in Washington said “North Korea wanted exactly this, and I cannot believe that our side allowed this to happen. I am totally surprised that months of negotiations have led to so few results.”

Surprise suspension of military exercises

President Trump’s plan to suspend military exercises was reportedly not agreed upon in advance with the South Korean government in Seoul. According to a South Korean government speaker, they were not entirely sure exactly what Trump meant by “war games.”

President Moon has called for a national security meeting to take place on Thursday in order to discuss the results of and potential ramifications of the summit.

In the past, South Korea’s government has expressed willingness to reduce the biannual military exercises. Nevertheless, the US and South Korea both consider the exercises to be an integral part of their decades-long alliance. The US current has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea.

The military exercises do regularly stir controversy with North Korea, which considers them to be a provocative act of war. Seoul and Washington say they are purely defensive.

For South Koreans, the potential to end the Korean War and achieve peace with the North is something many people are paying attention to.

“I think agreeing on denuclearization is good, but I had expected that Trump and Kim would announce the end of the Korean War,” a middle-aged South Korean on a city street in Seoul told DW. “Of course I know that everything can’t happen at once.”

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, East Asia

In Latin America, agroecology is a deeply political struggle

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Florence Poznanski for Articulação Nacional de Agroecologia (translation by CPNN)

Agroecology is a new model of development based on farming and land use practices in an ecological and common good perspective centered around traditional and popular knowledge and culture. In Brazil, the National Association of Agroecology (ANA) has brought together several hundred farmers’, women’s, artists’ and activists’ organizations over the course of the last fifteen years. Every four years they organize a national meeting of agroecology (RNA) in order to strengthen this network and share the know-how. The fourth edition was held this year between May 31 and June 3 in the city of Belo Horizonte (south-east Brazil) with the theme of the link between the city and the countryside for the production of a healthier diet. In addition to 2000 participants from different regions of Brazil, there were also about fifty people from 14 other countries.


Martin Willaume, Paulo Petersen and Patrícia Candela Orozco. Photos by Lucas Bois

International networks of agroecology

The Catholic Committee against Hunger and Development (CCFD) was one of the participants who made the trip. The French organization has defended the right to land on all continents for more than 50 years. Its presence is due to the institutional support partnership that was signed with ANA in 2016 as part of a global program on ecological transition based on the knowledge of traditional communities. In Latin America, in addition to Brazil, CCFD supports organizations in 10 other countries including Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Haiti.

“The Latin American experience is of great interest to us because it develops a political approach to agroecology that goes far beyond the sole issue of agriculture. In addition to the debate on organic food production and soil protection, the movement manages to link other central axes such as decent work, gender equality or the struggle for democracy “, explains Martin Willaume of CCFD. “This approach does not exist in other parts of the world, for example in Africa where the movement works in a mainly technical line. We are interested in understanding how this articulation is built to then bring the experience there, “he adds.

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(Click here for the original French version.)

Question for this article:

What is the relation between movements for food sovereignty and the global movement for a culture of peace?

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Willaume reports that there are several agroecological experiences on the continent that intertwine with other political agendas. In Bolivia, for example, agroecology has become a central focus in the process of building indigenous self-government in accordance with the Plurinational State’s legislation. In Peru, the movements build agroecology as a means of fighting against mining, and in Colombia, the agroecological movement combines the issues of the peace process in the struggle.

To face the empires of agribusiness, an international union is needed

Paulo Petersen, member of the ANA Executive Committee, explains how important these international alliances are, especially in the context of Brazil today. “The very nature of agroecology is transversal. If we take the 17 Sustainable Development Goals [adopted by the United Nations], we realize that agroecology covers the majority: climate, water, the fight for gender equality, against poverty, hunger, decent work, etc., “commented Peterson.

Completing Willaume’s reflection on the political dimension of agroecology, he points out that “it is not possible to think agroecology without thinking about the defense of democracy. We are talking about processes that do not correspond to a market logic. Agroecology is linked to the common good. It is a global challenge because the companies we fight are global empires and the answer is more autonomy, more sovereignty to get closer to nature and create new social relationships.”

Peterson explains that several Latin American organizations have contacted the ANA to participate in the RNA and also underlines that these exchanges of knowledge are important to allow the movement to continue to innovate and enrich new ideas. Brazil has a pioneering articulation force on the continent
Among the Latin American representatives was Colombian Patrícia Candela Orozco who went to Brazil to learn about the RNA experience. She represents the Instituto Mayor Campesino (IMCA), located in the Valle del Cauca region, near Cali, an organization that has been working for 57 years with peasant communities.

According to Patrícia, Brazil is a pioneer in the development of agroecology in Latin America. She says she was very impressed with the methodology called “mystic”, which is developed with music, theater and poetry. This is used to welcome meeting participants, to celebrate victories, to strengthen struggles or to introduce or contextualize debates in diverse spaces, in addition to fostering greater interaction with and among participants. “The fact of adding the spiritual part of the people gives more strength to the messages of that struggle. If each one lives this message inside of himself, he will be able to transmit it more easily to the rest of the people”, she says.

The broad participation in the fourth ENA was another point that impressed Candela. In Colombia, the IMCA was involved in the construction of the first national farmers’ meeting, which took place in 2017 and involved various civil society organizations. Patrícia highlights how difficult it is to hold an event of this size. The Brazilian experience in the ENA left her inspired.

(Thank you to Kiki Chauvin, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Nobel Women’s Initiative: Standing with Rohingya Women, Spotlighting Survivors for World Refugee Day

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A press release received by email from web@nobelwomensinitiative.org

This World Refugee Day, we are spotlighting the plight of the Rohingya people with the ONLINE PREMIERE of our Standing with Rohingya Women short film. This five minute film follows our February delegation to Bangladesh with Nobel Peace laureates Tawakkol Karman, Shirin Ebadi, and Mairead Maguire, in partnership with Bangladeshi women’s right organization Naripokkho.


Video of the film

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Question for this article

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

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Our delegation visited the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar to investigate the situation of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, particularly the violence against Rohingya women— including high levels of sexual violence.

Upon meeting with brave Rohingya women survivors of sexual violence at the hands of the Burmese military, it became clear that the atrocities committed against the Rohingya people were part of a larger campaign of state-sanctioned genocide. Over 700,000 Rohingya people were forced to flee their ancestral land in the Rakhine State in August 2017 after a crusade of violence committed against them by the Burmese forces. The laureates are calling that the Burmese government be held accountable for these atrocities at the International Criminal Court. With the devastating effects of the monsoon season in Bangladesh, the Rohingya people are in critical need of international aid and justice.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

South Asia, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Mexico: Invitation to study the Master of Science for Peace

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from El Pulso del Estado de México

With the aim of contributing to the construction of a culture of peace in the educational communities of the State of Mexico, the Ministry of Education, through the Universidad Mexiquense del Bicentenario and the Council for School Coexistence, invites those interested in participating in the admission process for the Master of Science in Peace, school year 2018-2019.


This educational program is based on the formative lines of Conflict Transformation and Peaceful Coexistence in Educational Contexts, Gender Perspective for Security, Development and Sustainable Peace, as well as Public Policies and Citizen Participation for Human Rights and Peace.

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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Graduates can enroll, preferably in areas related to education, social sciences, human rights and humanities, and the educational program will last four semesters, plus an additional one to complete the terminal work and obtain the degree.

The admission process consists of: information session on June 23; pre-registrations from June 25 to July 6; interviews from July 9 to 13; English exam on July 14; issue of results on August 8; registration for the first semester from August 13 to 17; propaedeutic course on August 18; beginning of the postgraduate course on August 24.

The delivery of documentation, entry procedure and definition of venue for the classes will be carried out in the facilities of the Higher Studies Unit Lerma of the Universidad Mexiquense del Bicentenario, located at Av. Industria Poniente s / n, Industrial and Technological Park Doña Rosa, Lerma, State of Mexico, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

For more information, interested parties can consult the sites: www.umb.edomex.gob.mx, www.convive.edomex.gob.mx, as well as write to the email: investigación@umb.mx or call 01-728- 284-7310 ext. 134

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Côte d’Ivoire: A seminar on the culture of peace organized at the FHB Foundation of Yamoussoukro

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Abidjan.net

“Educating for peace means training a caring and responsible citizen, respectful of human dignity and differences, and able to prevent conflicts or resolve them through non-violent means.” According to her, the culture of peace will only succeed if there is mutual understanding and an open and active conception of diversity.


Dr. Doumbia Diénéba

This was the message from Dr. Doumbia Diénéba at a training seminar held on Wednesday [13 juin] in Yamoussoukro on “Citizenship, the culture of peace and mutual understanding in academia.” Dr. Diénéba is the director of the peace research department of the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Foundation [FHB] of Yamoussoukro.

Dr. Doumbia emphasized that peace is a problem of collective action and not a given. It is not innate in the human being, it is the fruit of another type of wisdom.

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(Click here for the original version of this article in French)

Question for this article:

The Houghouët-Boigny Foundation of Yamoussoukro: what is its contribution to the culture of peace?

Where is peace education taking place?

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Initiated by the FHB foundation for the search for peace in collaboration with the Alassane Ouattara University (UAO), the training session involved the members of the University Platform for the Promotion of Peace and Democracy as well as leaders of clubs, associations and student unions.

In spite of the efforts and all the measures taken by the university authorities and the government, the violence in the universities returns in an episodic way. This violence has been threatening for some years, the safety of individuals, property on campus and disrupts academic years.

Faced with the complexity and the multiplicity of the violence, the causes of which require coordinated and complementary initiatives and actions, the FHB foundation aims to bring participants to master the tools of the culture of peace and the mechanisms of prevention and conflict management in the context of an academic environment where citizen behavior and mutual understanding are possible.

For the expert in the peaceful management of conflict, it is a question of making the transition from a world marked by a predominance of violence in all its forms, which leaves no respite to citizens, to a world where the values ​​of citizenship and the culture of peace are the very foundation of living together.

The director of the Peace Research Department of the FHB Foundation expressed hope that the training will strengthen participants’ skills and create within their university a critical mass of expertise and proven experience in the field of citizenship. citizenship, the culture of peace and non-violence.

Africa, EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Panafrican Women’s Network for Culture of Peace and Sustainable Development

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from Pyramid Media Gabon

Victoire Lasseni-Duboze was elected head of the Panafrican Women’s Network for Culture of Peace and Sustainable Development-Gabon section, at their Constitutive General Assembly which took place last weekend at the Libreville Chamber of Commerce. The Assembly was supported by the United Nations System in Gabon and the Doupambi-Matoka Foundation for Solidarity Development.


Victoire Lasseni- Duboze during her speech / DR.

This the culmination of a long process launched in 2017 with the implementation of the project “Support to the contribution of women to the promotion of the culture of peace and the objectives of sustainable development in Gabon” , initiated by the mediator of the Republic. It consisted of the realization of several women’s activities including the celebrations of International Women’s Day (8 March) and Peace (21 September).

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(Click here for the original French version)

Question for this article

Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

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The purpose of the activities is to promote the conditions for harmonious and peaceful living together for women from civil society and the artistic, cultural and scientific worlds. More than 200 women committed to creating a national network for a culture of peace and sustainable development during the first celebration. In 2017, during the international day of peace, the network was formalized by the establishment of a temporary office, which has started to elaborate the draft statutes, rules of procedure and action plan.

At the meeting, Stephen Jackson, coordinator of the United Nations System in Gabon, said: “I therefore welcome the convening of this constituent General Assembly of the Pan-African Women’s Network for the Culture of Peace and Development. sustainable-section Gabon. It testifies not only to the strength of conviction and commitment of Gabonese women but also it highlights, in line with the National Decade of Women (2015-2025 ), the awareness and recognition in this country of the necessary contribution of women to national development “.

After her election Victoire Lasseni-Duboze announced that the network will be set up in the nine provinces of Gabon. Because, she added: “we need peace throughout the territory”. The Panafrican Network of Women for Culture of Peace and Sustainable Development will aim to mobilize the women of Gabonese and African civil society in accordance with the “Plan of Action for a Culture of Peace in Africa- Take Action for Peace, adopted in Luanda, Angola, in March 2013, following the Pan-African Forum “Sources and Resources for a Culture of Peace”.

Africa, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

When you cultivate plants, do you cultivate peace?

The initial articles on this subject were written by Marielza Cunha Horta about the The Eco Citizen project in Brazil, and she gave us the title: “Cultivate plants, Cultivate peace.” Since then, subsequent articles bear out this approach.

According to the CPNN article about the largest tropical reforestation effort in history that aims that aims to restore 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon, “The reforestation project fills an urgent need to develop the region’s economy without destroying its forests and ensuring the well-being of its people.”

When announcing a great tree-planting project in Zambia, the President emphasized that it would involve young people, especially school children so that “when our learners appreciate the importance of trees, it will in turn create a positive impact in families and the communities at large.”

And describing the Green Belt Project that will cross the entire African continent with trees, CPNN noted that “Although the project was conceived on a grand scale, continental in scope, the actions must take place at a local level. . . [so that] the populations of different villages, communities and cities will develop mutual understanding, respect and confidence.”

Here are the CPNN articles on this subject:

Faces Of Africa – Defenders of the Forest [Madagascar]

Greentrees Sequesters Another 1 Million+ Tons of Carbon via Reforestation; Wins Award

‘Billion Tree Tsunami’ transforms arid Pakistan region into green gold

Great Green Wall Brings Hope, Greener Pastures to Africa’s Sahel

Leading from the Front: Zambia Launches Plant a Million Trees Initiative

China Reassigns 60,000 Soldiers to Plant Trees

World’s Largest Tropical Reforestation to Plant 73 Million Trees in Brazilian Amazon

Trees talk to each other and recognize their offspring

African women organize to reclaim agriculture against corporate takeover

This new initiative out of Paris will help fight climate change with trees

A Great Green Wall Across the African Continent

Une muraille verte transcontinentale

Eco Cidadão commemorates the International Day of Peace

Eco Cidadão comemora Dia Mundial da Paz

The Eco Citizen project: Cultivate plants, Cultivate peace

Eco-Citizen Programme : Urban Agriculture for Vulnerable Youth

d-sustainable

Great Green Wall Brings Hope, Greener Pastures to Africa’s Sahel

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Issa Sikiti da Silva for the Inter Press Service (reprinted by permission)

Hope, smiles and new vitality seem to be returning slowly but surely in various parts of the Sahel region, where the mighty Sahara Desert has all but ‘eaten’ and degraded huge parts of landscapes, destroying livelihoods and subjecting many communities to extreme poverty.

The unexpected relief has come from the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI), an eight-billion-dollar project launched by the African Union (AU) with the blessing of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the backing of organizations such as the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).


The icon of GGW shows the path of the Great Green Wall. Credit: greatgreenwall.org

(Editor’s note: The Great Green Wall was initiated by Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Mathai as described in a CPNN article in 2011.)

The Sahara, an area of 3.5 million square miles, is the largest ‘hot’ desert in the world and home to some 70 species of mammals, 90 species of resident birds and 100 species of reptiles, according to DesertUSA.
 
Restoring landscapes

The GGW aims to restore Africa’s degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives in one of the world’s poorest regions. This will be done by, among others, planting a wall of trees in more than 20 countries – westward from Gambia to eastward in Djibouti – over 7,600 km long and 15 km wide across the continent.

The countries include Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Senegal. There is also Algeria, Egypt, Gambia, Eritrea, Somalia, Cameroon, Ghana, Togo and Benin.

Popularity

Elvis Paul Nfor Tangem, AU’s GGWSSI coordinator, told IPS that the project was doing well, gaining popularity and generating many other ideas as the implementation gains momentum.

Tangem also said that the AU had begun working with the Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Namibian government for the extension of the GGWSSI concept to the dry lands of the Southern Africa region.

Namibia, which borders South Africa, is located between the Namib and Kalahari deserts. Namib, from which the country draws its name, is believed to be the world’s oldest desert.
 
Largest project ever

If the GGW is indeed extended to Southern Africa, it will take the number of countries drawn to the project to over 20, making it one of the world’s largest projects ever.

Fundraising for beneficiaries countries is being done through bilateral negotiations, as well as through national investments, the AU said.

International partners including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Sahara and Sahel Observatory (SSO), among others, are also playing a critical role to ensure that the project is being successfully implemented, and upon its completion by 2030 will become the world’s largest living structure and a new Wonder of the World.

(Article continued in the right side of the page)

Question for this article:

When you cultivate plants, do you cultivate peace?

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Food security

The GGW is set to create thousands of jobs for those who live along its path and boost food security and resilience to climate change in the Sahel, one of the driest parts of the world, where the FAO said an estimated 29.2 million people are food insecure.

The project founders said that by 2030 the ambition is to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land and sequester 250 million tons of carbon.

Asked if the project is being implementing one country after the other, Elvis replied: “The implementation of the initiative is first and famous country-based, meaning all the countries are undertaking implementation at their levels.

“However, the common factor among all the countries is the fact that their activities are based on the Harmonized Regional Strategy and their National Action Plans (NAP). We are supporting the production of the NAP in Cameroon and Ghana and also working on the SADC region.”

Returning home?

In Senegal, a total of 75 direct jobs and 1,800 indirect jobs, including in the nurseries sector and multipurpose gardens, have already been created through the GGW in the last six years, according to official statistics.

Also in Senegal, where desertification has slashed 34% of its area, the GGW has since ‘recovered’ just over 40,000 hectares out of the 817,500 hectares planned for the project.

This is good news for people like Ibrahima Ba and his family who left their homeland to move to Dakar in the quest of greener pastures.

Now, he is contemplating a return home. “I’m planning to go back towards the end of the year to rebuild my shattered life. The Sahara hasn’t done anybody any favor by taking away our livelihood,” Ba, a livestock farmer Peul from northern Senegal, told IPS.

An estimated 300,000 people live in the three provinces crossed by the GGW in Senegal.
 
Participatory approach

However, Marine Gauthier, an environmental expert for the Rights and Resources’ Initiative, (RRI) said a participatory approach was needed if the project was to be implemented successfully.

“In a conflictual region, where people depend on the land for their survival and where there are numerous transhumance activities from herders peoples (Peuls) potentially impacted by the project, a careful participatory approach is needed,” Gauthier said.

“Conflicts have already arisen a couple of years ago with Peuls (herders practicing transhumance, whose travels were to be restrained by the project). Just like any other environmental protection project, its capacity to engage with local communities, to make them first beneficiaries of the project, is the key to its success on the long term.

“Participatory mapping is a very successful tool that has been used within other projects and that could be of great help in defining and establishing the Great Green Wall,” Gauthier said.

Furthermore, Gauthier said empowering communities would be very interesting at the scale of the Great Green Wall. “It would take a lot of efforts, consultations, financial and human resources. It is however the only way to ensure that this project, which people are talking about for more than 10 years now, reaches its goal.

“Because when the communities are empowered and when their rights on the land are secured, it benefits directly to the environment and to preserving this land from more damage.”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

Africa, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT