3 ms·

This project is not thought to be going well. https://www.lifegate.com/africas-great-green-wall-a-bursting-dream https://www.lifegate.com/africas-great-green-w

This project is not thought to be going well. https://www.lifegate.com/africas-great-green-wall-a-bursting-dream https://www.lifegate.com/africas-great-green-wall-a-bursting... Having worked within the sector, there was a clear lack of interest in or budget for monitoring - so claims of success must be met with requests for verifiable evidence, which is never forthcoming.

tinco 4y ago
Wouldn't a project of this size be easily monitored with publicly available sattelite imagery? If there was funding, you could structure it purely based on the imagery, for example a country could receive ~1M$ for every 10px of green that was not green at the start of the project. And another ~1M$ if those pixels are still green 5 years later, and perhaps some diminishing recurring payment afterwards to ensure the projects survival.
- Biologist123 4y ago
  The problem is this: 1. Tree survival is an issue before the trees become “visible” from space. 2. Project funding typically lasts 3-5 years at a max. 3. In the organisations which run this type of project, there is an “I’ll be gone, you’ll be gone” staff problem: flawed projects are funded and staffed by people who know they won’t carry the can for project failure. 4. To be very realistic, funders of these projects don’t care. Indeed, corruption might be a feature rather than a bug.
  - tinco 4y ago
    Ah that's unfortunate. I'm sure there's technological solutions to point 1, but that's pretty irrelevant if the other three points are true. It seems a bit ridiculous if a project funding is 3-5 years, if it's supposed to be a permanent solution. Are corrupt funders really such a large share of money for these projects? Is it industrial companies using non-profit funding to grease wheels for their endeavors?
gumby 4y ago
Allegedly it has already had an effect on rainfall but I haven’t found anything refereed on the topic (not that I tried too hard — not my day job). Also the effect is allegedly improved monsoon in some places (at the cost of drought elsewhere). I’d think that the cost alone would have given rise to some interesting papers, were it actually happening. All that being said, I’m still encouraged by some efforts, though they remind me of protectors trying to repair the ramjets at the edge of the ringworld.

tinco 4y ago

Wouldn't a project of this size be easily monitored with publicly available sattelite imagery? If there was funding, you could structure it purely based on the imagery, for example a country could receive ~1M$ for every 10px of green that was not green at the start of the project. And another ~1M$ if those pixels are still green 5 years later, and perhaps some diminishing recurring payment afterwards to ensure the projects survival.

Biologist123 4y ago
The problem is this: 1. Tree survival is an issue before the trees become “visible” from space. 2. Project funding typically lasts 3-5 years at a max. 3. In the organisations which run this type of project, there is an “I’ll be gone, you’ll be gone” staff problem: flawed projects are funded and staffed by people who know they won’t carry the can for project failure. 4. To be very realistic, funders of these projects don’t care. Indeed, corruption might be a feature rather than a bug.
- tinco 4y ago
  Ah that's unfortunate. I'm sure there's technological solutions to point 1, but that's pretty irrelevant if the other three points are true. It seems a bit ridiculous if a project funding is 3-5 years, if it's supposed to be a permanent solution. Are corrupt funders really such a large share of money for these projects? Is it industrial companies using non-profit funding to grease wheels for their endeavors?

gumby 4y ago

Allegedly it has already had an effect on rainfall but I haven’t found anything refereed on the topic (not that I tried too hard — not my day job). Also the effect is allegedly improved monsoon in some places (at the cost of drought elsewhere). I’d think that the cost alone would have given rise to some interesting papers, were it actually happening. All that being said, I’m still encouraged by some efforts, though they remind me of protectors trying to repair the ramjets at the edge of the ringworld.