Senegal has a bright idea to combat desertification and poverty and all we have to do to make it happen is convince Paris Hilton to fork over the trust fund and break out some shovels. Let me explain…

Last month, African leaders came together in Chad to talk about how to fight against desertification which endangers millions of people who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. As the Sahara desert rapidly expands, some officials in Senegal propose building a Great Green Wall of Africa. According to the BBC, this project involves planting a wall of trees and vegetation that would be 4,831 miles long and 9 miles wide in order to halt the southward spread of the Sahara. Spanning across 11 countries from Djibouti in the east t to Mauritania in the west, the initiative hopes that planting drought-adapted tree species will slow soil erosion, help rain water filter into the ground, slow wind speeds and improve the lives of countless people whose health and well-being suffer as a result of environmental degredation.

This sounds great, but how likely is it that this project will actually take off? Even though the African Union supports it and money has already been invested by governments and the UN, the 5 year-old plan is still pending due to a lack of funding and concerns that the Great Wall will not be properly maintained. Like so many other revolutionary ideas, there are holes in this plan and powerful people can find a hundred reasons to ignore it. Nonetheless, I remain optimistic. In its initial phase, the Wall will cost at least $3 million and take two years to complete. It may seem like a lot of money to those of us non-millionaires but compared to most of the dam-building projects the World Bank is taking on, this is petty cash. If the plan comes into fruition it could potentially be a great investment in poverty management.

So if anyone knows Paris personally or Bono (he’s probably a better bet) then just let me know. Hm, if only it were that easy…

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