African Union Initiative Succeeds in Regrowing 200 Million Trees in Niger Through Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration
The African Union's Great Green Wall initiative, initially conceived as an 8,000-kilometer band of planted trees across Africa to combat desertification, faced significant challenges with high seedling mortality. However, a new approach, Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), has led to the successful regrowth of approximately 200 million trees in Niger. This method, pioneered by Australian agronomist Tony Rinaudo in the 1980s, involves protecting and pruning existing tree stumps and root systems that are already present underground, rather than planting new seedlings. Farmers select the strongest shoots from these existing systems, shield them from livestock, and prune other growth to direct energy into the chosen stems. This technique eliminates the need for nurseries, trucking, and watering, leveraging the resilience of established root systems. The success of FMNR was also significantly boosted by changes to colonial-era laws that previously disincentivized farmers from protecting trees on their l... 
