The African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) have jointly issued a strong call for immediate and coordinated action to stop the accelerating desertification threatening large parts of the African continent. The warning comes as experts report increasing land degradation, which poses severe risks to food security, livelihoods, and regional stability.
Speaking at a high-level summit in Addis Ababa, leaders from the AU and UN agencies emphasized the urgent need for sustainable land management practices, reforestation initiatives, and stronger policy frameworks to restore degraded lands and prevent further expansion of desert zones, especially in the Sahel and Horn of Africa regions.
“Desertification is not just an environmental issue—it’s a development, economic, and security crisis,” said Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. “Millions of Africans are being pushed deeper into poverty and forced to migrate as once-productive lands turn barren.”
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed echoed the sentiment, urging African governments, civil society, and international donors to scale up investments in land restoration. “We must treat this as a continental emergency. The Great Green Wall project is a promising start, but we need more ambitious, localized action and financing to meet the scale of the challenge.”
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) estimates that over 45% of Africa’s land is affected by desertification, with over 65% of productive land at risk of degradation due to unsustainable farming, deforestation, overgrazing, and climate change.
To address the crisis, the AU and UN proposed a four-point action plan:
- Strengthen national land restoration policies.
- Mobilize funding for large-scale reforestation and soil regeneration.
- Promote climate-smart agriculture and sustainable water use.
- Support communities with early warning systems and adaptive livelihoods.
Environmental activists and African youth groups welcomed the joint declaration, but stressed the need for follow-through. “We’ve heard enough promises—what we need now is implementation on the ground,” said Ayisha Muna, an environmental youth advocate from Sudan.
The AU and UN pledged to reconvene later this year to assess progress and push for stronger commitments during upcoming international climate and environmental summits.
