The Great Green Wall

Climate change is affecting all regions in the world.  One of these effects is desertification.
In Africa, the Saharan desert is growing.  Drought and poor farming techniques add to the problem. 
By 2025, experts predict that 65% of farmland will be gone. 
Already 500 million people are affected by dwindling food sources and threatened livelihoods. 

But African countries are fighting back.  In 2007, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad, Niger,
Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Senegal created a $2 billion dollar project. 
They will plant trees across 7775 kilometres, from coast-to-coast.  It’s called the Great Green Wall.

Governments will plant trees in the Sahel region (Saharan desert border).
When trees are planted, there are many benefits to the land. 
The roots keep topsoil from blowing away.  The leaves provide shelter.  The grasslands will return. 
Farmers will be able to make a living again.  Cattle herders can bring their cows to graze there. 
African governments are also using education to fight back against the growing desert. 
They are teaching farmers sustainable agriculture and showing villages how not to overuse the land. 

There have already been benefits.  Senegal has been the most successful country so far. 
They have planted 12 million trees.  Agriculture is growing, and people are earning income again from it.