*[Enwl-eng] Embargoed Press Release: Make Great Green Wall a Reality by 2030
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Fri Sep 20 23:52:24 MSK 2019
Embargoed Press Release: Make Great Green Wall a Reality by 2030
UNCCD/Global Mechanism Press Release
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Make Africa's Great Green Wall a Reality by
2030, Industry Leaders Urge
UNDER EMBARGO until September 22, 2019
(2100hrs Eastern Standard Time)
New York, 22 September 2019 – On the eve of
the UN Climate Action Summit, global leaders from government, business and
civil society are issuing an urgent call to action to grow an 8000km natural
wonder of the world across the entire width of the African continent.
The Great Green Wall, an African-led
movement, aims to, at once, drive forward climate-smart solutions and bring
back life to degraded landscapes in order to provide food security, jobs and
thriving new economies for the communities living in Africa’s Sahel region.
An estimated 15% of the Wall is already underway.
Influential leaders from business, politics,
media, the film and music industries will gather at Goals House in New York
on Sunday, 22 September, to spotlight the Great Green Wall as a practical,
low-cost nature-based solution responding to the global climate emergency.
Participants are expected to call on
governments, civil society and business to join a growing global movement to
make the Great Green Wall a reality by 2030.
Jim Pisani, Global Brand President,
Timberland, is expected to announce Timberland’s new commitment to the Great
Green Wall initiative, as an example of how businesses are investing in this
global movement.
Fernando Meirelles, Academy Nominated
Director of City of God, and Executive Producer of The Great Green Wall
feature documentary, and Hamzat Lawal, the Nigerian youth activist, are
among the speakers.
The event will also feature musical
performances by Songhoy Blues, Waje and Grammy-winning artist Ricky Kej as
well as clips from the upcoming feature documentary titled, The Great Green
Wall (Directed by Jared P. Scott), produced by MAKE Waves in association
with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the
UNCCD is convening the event, which is jointly being organized by the UNCCD
and Connect4Climate - World Bank Group represented at the event by Juergen
Voegele, Global Director of the World Bank’s Climate Change Group.
The Sahel – where the Great Green Wall is
taking root – is a political hotspot. Nearly 80% of the land in this region
is degraded, 33 million people are currently food insecure and temperatures
are expected by rise by as much as 3-5 degrees by 2050. The most pressing
challenges that humanity will face this century are already evident here,
from food and water shortages, to climate change, drought, migration, and
international terrorism.
The Great Green Wall is often cast as a
green belt stretching across the entire width of Africa from Dakar to
Djibouti. But it is much, much more. It is a people-centered movement to
restore the health of the Sahel’s eco-system and natural resources in order
to build the resilience to drought of the communities living here, enhance
their food security and empower them to generate new and sustainable income
streams.
The Great Green Wall was launched a decade
ago by the African Union, with the support of many partners that include
UNCCD, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility and the European
Commission.
Globally, 3 out of every 4 hectares of land
have already been transformed from their natural state, putting nearly 1
million species on the path to extinction. Partners will underscore the
global nature of the Wall as a symbol for humanity overcoming its greatest
threat – our rapidly degrading natural world.
Growing the Great Green Wall shows that if
we work with nature, even in challenging places such as the Sahel, we can
overcome adversity together, and build a better world for generations to
come.
(ends)
Quotes
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UN
Convention to Combat Desertification: “The Great Green Wall is a truly
inspirational initiative, which is growing urgent solutions in the face of
the 21st Century’s greatest challenges.”
Juergen Voegele, Global Director, Climate
Change, World Bank Group: “We are pleased to support the Great Green Wall, a
tremendous example of how we can fight poverty by revitalizing degraded land
through climate-smart practices.”
Jim Pisani, Global Brand President,
Timberland: “As a brand pursuing a better future for our planet, Timberland
is proud to join the Great Green Wall movement, which we see as crucial in
supporting communities on the very frontline of the global climate emergency
and building a more sustainable and equitable future.”
Timberland’s support of the Great Green Wall
is part of the brand’s commitment to plant 50 million trees worldwide by
2025.
To learn more about the Great Green Wall
visit: www.greatgreenwall.org
Please highlight the initiative using the
#GreatGreenWall and tag @GreenWallAfrica on all social channels.
Notes to Editors
The Great Green Wall feature documentary
premiered at Giornate degli Autori, the Venice Film Festival, in August. It
will premiere theatrically worldwide in Spring 2020, following a number of
major film festival appearances. The first single from the Great Green Wall
music project, titled Africa Yeah! will be launched in the Fall. A playlist
of tracks featuring music from the Sahel region will be launched in Spring
2020.
About the UNCCD
The UNCCD is an international agreement on
good land stewardship. It helps people, communities and countries to create
wealth, grow economies and secure enough food and water and energy, by
ensuring land users have an enabling environment for sustainable land
management. Through partnerships, the Convention’s 197 Parties set up robust
systems to manage drought promptly and effectively. Good land stewardship
based on a sound policy and science helps integrate and accelerate the
achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, builds resilience to
climate change and prevents biodiversity loss.
For further details please contact:
Alexander Asen, +44 7961047706 (mobile),
aasen at unccd.int
Contact Information
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Alexander Asen, Aasen at unccd.int, cell
+447961047706
About the UNCCD
The United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) is the only legally binding international agreement
on land issues. The Convention promotes good land stewardship. Its 197
Parties aim, through partnerships, to implement the Convention and achieve
the Sustainable Development Goals. The end goal is to protect our land, from
over-use and drought, so it can continue to provide us all with food, water
and energy. By sustainably managing land and striving to achieve land
degradation neutrality, now and in the future, we will reduce the impact of
climate change, avoid conflict over natural resources and help communities
to thrive.
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From: UNCCD Secretariat
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2019 8:04 PM
Subject: Embargoed Press Release: Make Great
Green Wall a Reality by 2030
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