« On the ground, nothing sustainable is possible without the participation of an organized civil society at all levels of decision-making and implementation ». In this position paper, civil society organizations are given good reasons to mobilize for a consideration of their actions in favor of the objectives of the Great Green Wall.
« On the ground, nothing sustainable is possible without the participation of an organized civil society at all levels of decision-making and implementation. In the 11 countries of the Great Green Wall, we – civil society organisations – intervene at the smallest scale, at the level of the territories and populations whose trust we have gained. We experiment, develop and adapt in a participatory manner. We are pioneers, as demonstrated by the contribution of our organisations to the dynamics of agroecology. The cost-benefit ratio of our actions is often more positive than projects carried out by large institutions. The impact of our actions on people’s lives is immediate. We carry out a multitude of small actions locally with farmers and we have expertise in the territories that can easily be aggregated into large-scale projects. Many of our organizations recognize the GGW as a relevant framework for addressing the challenges of the Sahel, and every day we are increasingly recognized by GGW decisionmakers, through their speeches, for our real contribution to the initiative. Yet our actions, the practices we develop, the results we achieve still suffer from too little consideration. For example, the latest report on the state of implementation of the Great Green Wall, published in 2020, does not consider the extent and multiplicity of our actions. And this is not right!
