Briefing Paper

Building on Successes with Regreening in the West African Sahel

“Regreening entails increasing the number of both on-farm trees and, in some countries, off-farm trees through natural forest
management and for the protection and management of natural regeneration on degraded land. There is an urgent need to scale up existing successes in both regreening approaches, because trees produce multiple benefits for rural populations. Trees have a positive impact on agricultural production as they help maintain or increase
soil organic matter content, which increases the water-holding capacity of the soil. Some species fix nitrogen from the air on their root systems, which helps maintain and improve soil fertility. Other species also produce fodder, which allows farmers to keep
more livestock. Trees also decrease wind speed and locally reduce temperatures, which helps farmers adapt to climate change. More
trees, higher crop yields,and more livestock enable farmers to better cope with drought years.”