Israel hosted a group of African agricultural experts to help combat desertification and drought in the Sahara region.
The delegation, through Israel’s DeserTech program, was in the country last week and aimed to gain tools to assist in developing what is known as the “Great Green Wall,” a pan-African initiative designed by the UN. The 8,000-km. “wall” is meant to span 11 countries and include planting new trees to restore more than 100 million hectares of degraded land.
DeserTech promotes the development, adaptation and commercialization of technologies that enable sustainable living in arid climates while simultaneously turning Beersheva and the Negev region into a global entrepreneurial hub for these technologies.
It is a joint initiative of the Merage Foundation Israel, the Israel Innovation Institute, the Environmental Protection Ministry and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The Foreign Ministry made the connection between DeserTech and the UN initiative.
“Desertification and climate change pose a danger to many countries. Israel is fighting this threat at home and is providing its experience and capabilities to benefit Africa,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said. “We will continue to deepen and strengthen our ties with countries that want to do so for prosperity and to build stability in the region.”
The delegation was invited to Israel to receive assistance in identifying and mapping the challenges in their region, as well as in finding solutions that combine Israeli knowledge and technologies, which have proven successful in the past in the fight against desertification in Israel.
