The ambitious project the Great Green Wall aims to improve life in Africa’s desert regions by planting a belt of trees across the entire width of the continent. Once completed, the wall will be the largest living structure on the planet and will stretch across twenty countries—from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east. By 2030 the initiative aims to have restored 100 million hectares (247 million acres) of degraded land, sequestered 250 million tons of carbon, and created ten million green jobs. Signs of land degradation can be seen as brighter “islands” around villages. June 17, 2019.