Reforestation in the Great Green Wall is more than just planting trees. For Entrepreneurs Without Frontiers (EwF), trees are not the end goal but the means to do business and create opportunities. Even in one of the most difficult regions of Africa; the Sahel.
And let’s be clear: if we don’t invest in that region, the UN predicts a migration flow to Europe of 250 million climate refugees by 2050….
A win for the local population
Entrepreneurs Without Frontiers is primarily concerned with realizing local socio-economic IMPACTS in balance with ecological impacts!
During the peak of the annual drought period April-May grasses can be sold to the cattle farmers as there is almost no grass left for cattle on free land. Per 250ha of demarcated forest plot, grass can yield up to 3000EUR annually. A fortune in a country where the average annual income per capita is 3500US$ (2017).
Local entrepreneurship is therefore stimulated from the start. With the various revenues from these sites, for example, solar panels can be purchased to provide the village with electricity. This makes it possible to:
– organize computer classes at school
– electric water pumps for irrigation and grain mills, saving diesel
– Provide refrigerators to preserve medication and foods for longer
All direct and indirect IMPACTS such as CO2 capture, job creation, higher education of the children, possibility of various investment choices, etc… can be followed up by logging on to the IMPACT page of this website.
Good business for entrepreneurship
A 250-hectare forest in the Sahel captures 850 tCO2 annually. They issue official VER (Voluntary Emmision Reduction) certificates that allow companies to demonstrate to their stakeholders that the CO2 they produce has been positively offset by forest and has sustainable impacts in the short, medium and long term.
Companies that profile themselves positively by realizing sustainable impacts such as CO2 offsets (CSR), ensure a better economic return over time as well as a sustainable relationship with employees, customers and suppliers.
Would you like to make socio-economic and ecologic impacts by planting forests in the Great Green Wall?
Contact us at: info@ozg.be
Q&A:
Q: Why reforest in the Great Green Wall project of the African Union?
A: The Great Green Wall project is an international project with several advantages:
– Protected by international rules
– Enables official VER certification for CO2 offset (audited)
– High Return On Investment (ROI):
+ Increase biodiversity, stops desertification, fertilizes soil
+ Food security
+ Creates a lot of employment
+ Increase per capita income by at least 30%
+ Reach of 250 million people
+ Stops migrations
Q: What is the benefit for them/us?
A: – Reciprocity::
+ return investment in reforestation in BE/EU
– Business opportunities:
+ in agriculture; high potential cashcrops such as Arabic Gum (food industry), Balanites oil (cosmetics), Fonio (Gluten free grain)
+ in technology; energy (solar panels), satellite data for agriculture, communication
Ready to invest with us and to realize real IMPACT? Contact us at: info@ozg.be
