Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Great Green Wall was launched by the African Union, with support from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in 2007 to combat the effects of climate change and desertification. It aims to create 8,000km of productive landscapes by supporting efforts from local communities to sustainably manage forests, rangelands and other natural resources in dry lands. The Great Green Wall is planned to stretch from the Horn of Africa in the east to Dakar in the west, passing through the following countries: Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Chad; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Ghana; Mali; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; and Sudan. It also seeks to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as improve the food security and livelihoods of the people of the Sahel and the Sahara. Progress since 2007 has been mixed across the countries involved in the initiative with further delays due to COVID-19.

In 2018, my Department provided a contribution of €1,200,000 to support the implementation of the Great Green Wall initiative. The contribution was divided between Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of the initiative. The Pillar 1 payment of €200,000 went towards the drafting and publication of the ‘State of the Great Green Wall’ Landmark Report in 2020. The remainder of the contribution was designated for the development of a portfolio of transformative projects along the Great Green Wall for future donor funding.

In 2021, my Department agreed a no-cost extension to Pillar 2 of the fund and the use of this funding for the development of the portfolio. In line with the recommendations set out in the Landmark Report, the UNCCD requested that Pillar 2 contributions to be used to build a platform for the Accelerator that will act as an intermediary between the project developers and funding sources and provide relevant technical support to project design. This would support the development of full project documents or a largescale multi-country investment programme and other required technical studies such as feasibility studies to address the gaps identified in the Landmark Report. Furthermore, it would ensure that project developers are supported to secure the financing required to design and implement relevant project(s) to compliment other on-going efforts. A report from UNCCD on the use of Pillar 2 funding was due in late 2022. However, due to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the delay in the development and launch of the Landmark Report, the start date of Pillar 2 implementing activities was delayed.

Since granting of a no-cost extension in 2021, Ireland’s funding has primarily been used to establish a number of national coalitions within the Great Green Wall countries. The establishment of these coalitions is seen as essential to ensure more coordinated support for the Great Green Wall at national level, support the development of project concept notes and help mobilise additional resources. By November 2022, only nine out of the eleven Great Green Wall countries had set up their national coalition.

Based on the delays experienced in achieving the Pillar 2 outcomes, UNCCD requested Ireland to agree to a further no-cost extension of the original grant agreement for an additional six months, until 30 June 2023. This period was to help continue the support of the development of full project documents or a largescale multi-country investment programme and other required technical studies such as feasibility studies to address the gaps identified in the Landmark Report. On 25 January 2023 this second no-cost extension of the grant agreement was approved.

In a letter received from UNCCD in October 2023, it emerged that ongoing activities supporting countries in developing their transformative programme are continuing in a small number of Great Green Wall countries until the end of 2023. Therefore, the UNCCD sought approval of a third and final no-cost grant extension and permission to utilise funding already disbursed from Ireland until 31 December 2023. On 20 December 2023, the third and final no-cost extension was approved.

The UNCCD Global Mechanism prepared a narrative report on Ireland’s grant to the Great Green Wall Initiative in 2022. The report outlines progress to date and notes areas where additional time is required to achieve the intended outcomes. Upon request of a third no-cost extension, the UNCCD Global Mechanism provided me with the Final Narrative Report on Ireland’s grant to the GGW Initiative. A final financial report is expected in the coming months.