Source: Global Environment Facility

A joint effort to reverse food insecurity, over farming and overgrazing is underway, and attempts to mitigate the effects of climate change and extreme weather are in the making. The effects of land degradation are most severe in Sub-Saharan Africa, where roughly 500 million people are trying to make a living from land subjected to increasing desertification – a process where extreme nutrient loss in soil results in a desert-like wasteland.

Jean-Marc Sinnassamy, senior environmental specialist with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), looks at this union of countries as a unique opportunity to unite governments on a strong political base. Sinnassamy stated, "Here, we saw political leaders, heads of state, ministers in different countries wanting to work on common environmental issues and wanting to tackle land degradation issues together."