comunità locali

Eight thousand kilometers long and fifteen kilometers wide.These are the impressive measures of the Great Green Wall, a tree belt that the African Union is building in order to counter the advance of the desert.The ambitious project aims to cross the African continent horizontally.From Senegal to Djibouti, the tree-lined line will pass through 11 nations with the noble aim of combat environmental degradation and poverty in the region.The costs have been estimated at approximately 33 billion dollars, of which 14 have already been invested.More than ten years after the official launch of the project, approximately 20% of the route has been completed.According to several sources, however, the initiative is already changing things for the better.Because, to be honest, the Great Green Wall is not just a work aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change.More than a line, it is in fact a “restoration mosaic” which protects agriculture, offers jobs, promotes social cohesion an...

Not only biotechnology, but also indigenous knowledge is capable of developing and conserving crop varieties resistant to climate change.Proof of this is the indigenous Gurung farmers of central Nepal, who are actively working to revive an almost forgotten millet variety but resistant to drought like few others.This is foxtail millet (Italian silk), a grain traditionally grown as a famine crop because it ripens at a time of year when farmers have already harvested everything else.«Foxtail millet is harvested before the monsoon, between June and July, when other crops no longer grow.Unlike other cash crops, however, it needs much less water to grow and requires only three months to be harvested for consumption." he explained Bina Gurung, a farmer from the small village of Ghopte involved in the venture. Foxtail millet, known locally as bariyo kaguno, in the past it was a staple crop in the region, so much so that it was used as a daily substitute for rice.However, in recent d...