Greening the Edge of the Sahara: China’s Approach to the African Great Green Wall

The African Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) is an ambitious transcontinental program aimed at halting desertification, restoring degraded lands, and improving livelihoods across the Sahel region. Despite its transformative vision, the initiative has encountered technical, financial, and governance challenges. In recent years, China’s involvement—drawing from its extensive experience with the Three-North Shelterbelt Program and integrated desertification control—has introduced a new model of South-South cooperation. Through adaptive technologies, capacity building, and co-developed community-based strategies in Mauritania, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, Chinese partners have provided tangible contributions to Africa’s ecological restoration. This article documents these collaborative stories and argues that China’s ecological governance framework is shaping a new paradigm for global environmental development.