This story was originally published on Atlas Obscura. It is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
The new garden in Boki Diawe in northeast Senegal looks like an eye from the air. It is wide open and unblinking. There are also a few divots in the soil that look dark like freckles across the nose. Although the ground is still sandy brown there is a small area of bright green nearby.
This garden will soon be lush if everything goes according to plan. This circular garden, known locally as a Tolou Keur, has been planted with lemons, papayas and cashews. The inner curving row is for medicinal plants. The outer row is lined with Khaya senegalensis and baobabs, which are also known as African mahogany.
This garden is the latest iteration in the Great Green Wall project. It was originally envisioned as a viridescent belt that would stretch thousands of miles across the Sahel region from Senegal through Djibouti. The African Union launched the project in 2007 with support from the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations. It was originally intended to stop desertification by stymying Sahara's wandering south.
Desertification refers to the process by which lusher land becomes a desert. Chukwuma J. Oloie, a professor in geoinformatics and surveying at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, said that this phenomenon is triggered by a combination of natural and man-made factors. Okolie uses satellite imagery and remote sensing data to track landscapes that tilt toward desert conditions.
Desertification is caused by climate variability, climate change, overgrazing and the construction of river dams. Conflicts that lead to displacement of people and shifts in land use are also factors. The effects of long droughts on fertile soil can make it vulnerable to wind and rains that can sweep it away. Okolie states that deforestation can speed up the process because trees act as windbreaks. This is where the Great Green Wall concept was born.
Trees were initially emphasized as an anchor for soil and as a buffer against the encroaching of sand in the initial plan. Geert Serk, a Utrecht University geoscientist who studies land degradation, said that some elements of the plan made sense. Sterk explained that tree and shrub roots are soil-holding and that canopies trap raindrops and prevent them from reaching the soil surface. This reduces erosion and protects against strong winds.
However, the ambitious plan didn't work out as planned. There were political disputes over where the green line should be drawn and scientific debates about the effectiveness of the approach as well as about the fuels that cause desertification. The project is only a fraction of its goal to plant hundreds of millions of acres by 2021.
The project will be given a boost by a new infusion of money that was pledged earlier this years by several governments and development banks. Now, the focus shifts to local gardens. More than 20 different versions of these circular gardens were planted in Senegal over the last seven months.
Aly Ndiaye (Senegal-born agricultural engineer) told Reuters that the Great Green Wall should be composed of smaller, more productive gardens that are permanent, practical, sequential, and open to all. This would allow for a greater variety of plots than one continuous line of trees. Okolie agrees with Okolie that planting seeds in the ground is not the right way to go. Okolie says that the project must include trying to find the best species for the soil and climate conditions, as well as appealing to those who will feed them. Research has shown that agroforestry projects can fail if they are solely focused on planting trees and leave out local people. Okolie states that when the government plants trees it is the community who will support them. It is up to the community to take responsibility.
