European Commission boosts Regreening Africa Initiative with €15 Million Investment at UNCCD COP16

Today, at the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) in Riyadh, the European Commission announced the launch of the second phase of the Regreening Africa programme, supported by a new €15 million investment. Building on the success of its first phase, this initiative aims to combat land degradation, improve community livelihoods and climate resilience, and restore ecosystems across the Sahel and Horn of Africa.

Regreening Africa is a key programme in the EU’s support to the Great Green Wall, an AU-EU Global Gateway Investment Package Flagship at regional level.

The programme will focus on Somalia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, and potentially Niger, collaborating with some of the region’s most vulnerable populations to the impacts of climate change and desertification. Phase II continues to focus on restoring degraded lands, strengthening community resilience, and improving livelihoods through sustainable land management practices and innovative regreening strategies. 

Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela stated: "Regreening Africa exemplifies the powerful collaboration needed to restore our planet while empowering the communities on the frontlines of climate and degradation challenges. During Phase I of this programme, we helped to restore nearly one million hectares of degraded land and reached over five hundred thousand households across eight countries. This remarkable success has laid the foundation for an even more ambitious Phase II, which will continue to build resilience and drive sustainable growth across the Sahel and Horn of Africa." 

Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall said: "With this new investment the EU will support local communities and protect people’s livelihoods by reviving degraded soils. Because healthy soils are the foundation of everything – how and where we live, the food we eat, and fresh water and a stable climate. At the UNCCD COP16 negotiations in Riyadh and beyond, the EU is committed to working together with international partners to restore and protect land and soils."

Key Focus Areas for Phase II

• Scaling up- and out: engaging an additional 200,000 smallholder farming and pastoral households in adopting sustainable regreening practices, while influencing key policies
• Unlocking incentives for restoration: expanding green enterprises, tree-based value chains, and youth- and women-focused employment opportunities.

Building on Phase I Success

From 2017 to 2023, Regreening Africa demonstrated the power of community-driven action by kickstarting restoration activity on nearly 1 million hectares of degraded land and reaching over 500,000 households across eight countries. This large-scale transformation was achieved through inclusive partnerships with communities, governments, NGOs, and research institutions. The programme introduced innovative tools such as the Regreening Africa App, which empowered 150,000 farmers to monitor and adapt restoration practices.

Additional key achievements from the first phase of the programme include enhanced women's access to land and increased community adoption of sustainable practices like agroforestry, improved grazing, and beekeeping. A key moment was its recognition as a "UN World Restoration Flagship" cementing its role as a global model for restoration initiatives.

Background 

The first phase of the Reversing Land Degradation by Scaling up Evergreen Agriculture (Regreening Africa) Programme, funded by the European Union, was implemented from September 2017 to March 2023. 

Phase I focused on reversing land degradation across eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Implemented in collaboration with governments, NGOs, and research institutions, the programme seeks to restore ecosystems, improve livelihoods, and address the intertwined challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity.

The project is part of the Great Green Wall initiative, an ambitious endeavour that aims to create a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across the 8,000 kilometres connecting the shores of Senegal and Djibouti. Launched in 2007 by the African Union with partners such as the European Union, the World Bank and the United Nations, this commitment has catalysed further investments and actions combatting land degradation in the Sahel.

More Information

Regreening Africa

Regreening Africa: Restoring land and livelihoods in the Sahel - European Commission

EU to push for increased global cooperation at UNCCD COP16 - European Commission