2-7 May 2016 Dakar, Kaolack, Senegal
First Great Green Wall Global Conference

Since its inception in 2007, the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI) has evolved into a pan-African sustainable landscape program to address land degradation and desertification, boost food, environmental and economic security, and support communities' adaptation to climate change. The First Conference on the GGWSSI will gather representatives from more than 20 Sahelian countries and partners to discuss the further scaling-up of implementation based on commitments made at the Paris Climate Change Conference with a view to: develop a “road map for transformational action on 
the ground,” including a Great Green Wall results framework; confirm political commitments in support of the initiative; strengthen the GGWSSI Community of 
Practice; and set new strategic directions for GGWSSI 
communication and knowledge management. The Conference will be organized around three days of technical sessions to exchange and share knowledge about programs and projects in support of the Great Green Wall, and a one-day high-level segment bringing together African Ministers and development partners. Practical interactive seminars will also take place on innovation, communication and knowledge services. Coordinated and sponsored by diverse partner organizations, the conference will draw on experiences from ongoing Great Green Wall projects, including: the World Bank and Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported Sahel and West Africa Program (SAWAP); the AAD programme, which is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and funded by the partnership programme between the EU and Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP-EU); and the Front Local Environnemental pour une Union Verte (FLEUVE), an EU-funded Great Green Wall project coordinated by the Global Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).  

dates: 2-7 May 2016  
location: Dakar, Kaolack, Senegal  
contact: Philippe Zoungrana, CILSS  
e-mail: philippe.zougrana@cilss.bf  
www: http://www.fao.org/in-action/action-against-desertification/news-and-multimedia/detail/en/c/410205/
 http://www.fao.org/3/a-be992e.pdf