Editing Desertification (section)

=== Desert greening ===
{{Main|Desert greening}}
{{See also|Afforestation}}

As there are many different types of deserts, there are also different types of desert reclamation [[methodologies]]. An example for this is the salt flats in the  [[Rub' al Khali]] desert in [[Saudi Arabia]]. These salt flats are one of the most promising desert areas for seawater agriculture and could be revitalized without the use of freshwater or much energy.<ref>[http://www.prototype-creation.de/rethinking_landscapes.pdf Rethinking landscapes, Nicol-André Berdellé July 2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817063318/http://www.prototype-creation.de/rethinking_landscapes.pdf |date=2016-08-17 }} H2O magazine</ref>

[[Farmer-managed natural regeneration]] (FMNR) is another technique that has produced successful results for desert reclamation. Since 1980, this method to reforest degraded landscape has been applied with some success in Niger. This simple and low-cost method has enabled farmers to regenerate some 30,000 square kilometers in Niger. The process involves enabling native sprouting tree growth through selective pruning of shrub shoots. The residue from pruned trees can be used to provide mulching for fields thus increasing [[Soil water (retention)|soil water retention]] and reducing evaporation. Additionally, properly spaced and pruned trees can increase crop yields. The Humbo Assisted Regeneration Project which uses FMNR techniques in Ethiopia has received money from The World Bank's BioCarbon Fund, which supports projects that sequester or conserve carbon in forests or agricultural ecosystems.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/10/18/sprouting-trees-from-the-underground-forest-a-simple-way-to-fight-desertification-and-climate-change/ |title=Sprouting Trees From the Underground Forest — A Simple Way to Fight Desertification and Climate Change – Water Matters – State of the Planet |publisher=Blogs.ei.columbia.edu |date=2011-10-18 |access-date=2012-08-11 |archive-date=2012-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623022554/http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/10/18/sprouting-trees-from-the-underground-forest-a-simple-way-to-fight-desertification-and-climate-change/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]] launched the FAO Drylands Restoration Initiative in 2012 to draw together knowledge and experience on dryland restoration.<ref>{{cite web |title=Drylands Restoration Initiative |url=http://www.fao.org/forestry/aridzone/restoration/en/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723220152/http://www.fao.org/forestry/aridzone/restoration/en/ |archive-date=23 July 2016 |access-date=14 April 2016 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref> In 2015, FAO published global guidelines for the restoration of degraded forests and landscapes in drylands, in collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5036e.pdf |title=Global guidelines for the restoration of degraded forests and landscapes in drylands |date=June 2015 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |isbn=978-92-5-108912-5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423203240/http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5036e.pdf |archive-date=2016-04-23 |url-status=live<!-- |access-date=June 2015 -->}}</ref>

The "[[Green Wall of China]]" is a high-profile example of one method that has been finding success in this battle with desertification.<ref>{{Cite web |title=desertification 3D environment |url=https://b2b.partcommunity.com/community/knowledge/en/detail/9815/Desertification#knowledge_article |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228141238/https://b2b.partcommunity.com/community/knowledge/en/detail/9815/Desertification#knowledge_article |archive-date=2021-02-28 |access-date=2020-09-25}}</ref> This wall is a much larger-scale version of what American farmers did in the 1930s to stop the great Midwest dust bowl. This plan was proposed in the late 1970s, and has become a major ecological engineering project that is not predicted to end until the year 2055. According to Chinese reports, there have been nearly 66&nbsp;billion trees planted in China's great green wall.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-21 |title=China's 'Great Green Wall' Fights Expanding Desert |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/china-great-green-wall-gobi-tengger-desertification/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813110737/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/china-great-green-wall-gobi-tengger-desertification/ |archive-date=2017-08-13 |access-date=2017-05-04}}</ref> The green wall of China has decreased desert land in China by an annual average of 1,980 square km.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hui |first=Lu |date=May 26, 2018 |title=Across China: A guardian of the great green wall against China's second largest desert |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-05/26/c_137207841.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526094225/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-05/26/c_137207841.htm |archive-date=May 26, 2018 |work=Xinghua News Agency}}</ref> The frequency of sandstorms nationwide have fallen 20% due to the green wall.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beiser |first=Vince |date=September 1, 2017 |title=A tree grows in China: can a "Green Great Wall" stop sand from devouring the countryside? |journal=Mother Jones |volume=83 |issue=4}}</ref> Due to the success that China has been finding in stopping the spread of desertification, plans are currently being made in Africa to start a "wall" along the borders of the Sahara desert as well to be financed by the United Nations Global Environment Facility trust.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gadzama |first=Njidda Mamadu |date=2017 |title=Attenuation of the effects of desertification through sustainable development of Great Green Wall in the Sahel of Africa |journal=World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=279–289 |doi=10.1108/WJSTSD-02-2016-0021}}</ref>
[[File:Great green wall map.svg|thumb|The [[Great Green Wall (Africa)|Great Green Wall]], participating countries and Sahel. In September 2020, it was reported that the GGW had covered only 4% of the planned area.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jonathan Watts |date=7 September 2020 |title=Africa's Great Green Wall just 4% complete halfway through schedule |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/07/africa-great-green-wall-just-4-complete-over-halfway-through-schedule |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506222825/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/07/africa-great-green-wall-just-4-complete-over-halfway-through-schedule |archive-date=6 May 2022 |access-date=18 December 2021 |newspaper=The Guardian |via=www.theguardian.com |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>]]
In 2007 the [[African Union]] started the [[Great Green Wall (Africa)|Great Green Wall of Africa]] project in order to combat desertification in 20 countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Great Green Wall{{!}}Action Against Desertification{{!}}Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |url=https://www.fao.org/in-action/action-against-desertification/overview/great-green-wall/en/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127153831/https://www.fao.org/in-action/action-against-desertification/overview/great-green-wall/en/ |archive-date=2022-01-27 |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=www.fao.org}}</ref> The wall is 8,000&nbsp;km wide, stretching across the entire width of the continent and has 8 billion dollars in support of the project. The project has restored 36{{nbsp}}million{{nbsp}}hectares of land, and by 2030 the initiative plans to restore a total of 100&nbsp;million{{nbsp}}hectares.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gadzama |first=Njidda |date=2017 |title=Attenuation of the Effects of Desertification through Sustainable Development of Great Green Wall in the Sahel of Africa |journal=World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=279–289 |doi=10.1108/WJSTSD-02-2016-0021}}</ref> The Great Green Wall has created many job opportunities for the participating countries, with over 20,000 jobs created in Nigeria alone.<ref>{{Cite web |last=United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification |date=2019 |title=The Great Green Wall Initiative |url=https://www.unccd.int/actions/great-green-wall-initiative |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202120122/https://www.unccd.int/actions/great-green-wall-initiative |archive-date=2019-12-02 |access-date=2019-12-03 |website=United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification}}</ref>