In The Gambia, frontline communities are working to shape the future of the country’s section of the Great Green Wall, through the organisation of a national citizen assembly – the first ever on the African Continent on climate related issues.

The assembly will build deep community ownership to create the enabling environment for making the Great Green Wall a long-term success in The Gambia. Frontline activists, led by the young conservationist Kemo Fatty, are travelling across the country in a Great Green Wall bus, equipped with a solar-powered cinema sharing information with hundreds of communities. The long term ambition of the programme is to

• Seed a citizen-powered movement to build mass awareness of the project across The Gambia
• Host a grassroots solutions festival to unearth new models for Gambia’s national restoration drive
• Influence policy through a new citizen powered National Action Plan for the Great Green Wall validated by The Gambian Government
• Launch of a community fund to implement this new citizen powered blueprint with a project pipeline

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Elmirehbiba Gum Arabic Producers Association (EGAPA) operates in Sudan, which is the global leader in supplying Gum Arabic, an important non-wood forest product obtained from Acacia senegal (known in the Sudan as the hashab tree). The commodity is widely used in an enormous range of industrial and medicinal applications and as a stabilizer and natural additive in the food industry around the world. The livelihoods of one million poor families in Sudan depend on gum arabic. However, processing the gum attracts high taxes and producers are constrained by limited access to market information or credit.  EGAPA is a multi-purpose joint liability group of 300 members based on common trust. It aims to increase small-scale gum arabic farmers’ production and income by strengthening their abilities and improving market systems.

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The Sudanese Environment Conservation Society (SECS) works to promote the conservation of the environment through community participation in Sudan. Core activities include the establishment of an Environmental Forum, bringing together a diverse group of academics, environmental specialists, technocrats, politicians and NGO representatives, which oversee small pilot projects to support the alleviation of poverty in rural areas along Sudan’s section of the Great Green Wall.

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Groupe de Réflexion et Développement Durable works closely with Mali’s local population to take up sustainable forest management practices, develop new value chains based on restoration and agroforestry activities and create the necessary supporting activities such as capacity building and inclusive governance.

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Association for the Conservation of the Environment and Sustainable Development works for the well-being of communities by safeguarding the environment and sustainable management of natural resources. It undertakes information and training activities to support populations in their development projects, responding to priority needs in the areas of water, food security, health, and environmental protection.

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