Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 September 2021
36. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress to date on the UNCCD Great Green Wall project and Ireland’s engagement with the UNCCD; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45791/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Great Green Wall is a Pan-African initiative to restore and sustainably manage land in the Sahel-Saharan region, covering more than 20 African countries. It aims to rehabilitate 8.2 million hectares of land per year by 2030. The intervention zone dedicated to the Great Green Wall spans a length of at least 7000km between Senegal and Djibouti and it is home to 232 million people.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is one of a number of organisations involved in the Great Green Wall initiative and, in 2020, it reported that eleven participating countries have collectively rehabilitated approximately four million hectares of land between 2007 and 2019. This effort has resulted in a number of environmental and socio-economic benefits, including the creation of approximately 335,000 jobs.
At the One Planet Summit for Biodiversity, held in January 2021, US$14 billion was pledged to fund action to protect biodiversity, including support to assist the completion of the Great Green Wall by 2030.
Ireland’s partnership with the UNCCD is led by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications which made a €1.2 million contribution in 2018 to the UNCCD for the Great Green Wall. Irish Aid made an additional contribution of €50,000 to the Great Green Wall in 2018.
