Projects Current projects The Olympic Forest - Mali & Senegal The Olympic Forest is a reforestation/agroforestry project located between Senegal and Mali that aims to restore over 2,000 ha of degraded wooded savannah land. The project works with cash-poor local communities in the two countries - both on the front lines of climate change - and seeks to restore their environment by preventing desertification and enhancing their economic resilience. Benefits that The Olympic Forest project provides Start date 2022 Certified beneath PV Climate Version 4 Coordinator Tree Aid La Lumiere Activities Reforestation Agroforestry Participants 2183 smallholders from 202 communities PVCs issued to-date 0 Awards The detail Tree Aid is working with communities across Africa to grow trees and restore land in support of the Great Green Wall movement. This African-led initiative envisages an 8,000km mosaic of restored land across the Sahel that will transform the lives of millions living on the frontline of the climate crisis. The Olympic Forest aims to contribute to the Great Green Wall through three means; the restoration of degraded, wooded savannah, restoration of farmland, and the sequestering of CO2. Use of enrichment planting and agroforestry over 2,120ha land will support these goals, as will improved community land management. In accordance with each country’s Rural Land Tenure Law, local land charters will be defined. In Western Mali and Eastern Senegal, suitable farmers and communal sites are being identified with local committees agreeing on the enrichment planting sites and representing the respective smallholder farmers. Cooperatives established in each village also facilitate project management by mobilising the community and coordinating future payments. Equipment and training for land restoration and management are provided to each group. The project hopes to improve livelihoods for these participants by providing fuelwood from dead or fallen stems, improving soil fertility, and providing resources for non-timber forest products. These activities, along with income generated from the sale of carbon credits, are expected to provide incremental improvements in income, with existing livelihood activities (i.e. grazing, agriculture) remaining the core income. The documents See all documents SDG details See how the project provides benefits beyond carbon and contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Sustainable Development Goal How the project contributes The project will reduce the proportion of households living in poverty and diversified incomes will increase the resilience of the population to climate change. The project will promote fruit and nut-bearing trees in agroforestry environments, which will provide a source of nutrition for participating households, whilst potentially improving the productivity of the farmland. Developing viable income generating opportunities through Non-Timber Forest Product value chains and promoting land restoration practices (e.g. SWC, FMNR, agroforestry) will support farmers to increase productivity of degraded agricultural land and improve their income. The project will address the specific roles, responsibilities, needs and perspectives of rural women, taking into account the local context. Women and youths are encouraged to participate in governance structures, enterprise activities and financial services alongside land restoration and stewardship activities. Promoting Non-Timber Forest Products as an income source will incentivise communities to protect local forests and to use natural resources sustainably. The payments for production and planting of seedlings, maintenance of planting sites and through carbon payments will provide a source of income for project participants. Investments in institutional, technological and organisational capacity-building will restore ecosystems and support management of more than 2,000 ha of land, increasing carbon sequestration in the area. Planting throughout forest areas (including threatened species) will restore forest biodiversity. Anthropogenic pressures on the land will be reduced through firebreaks and community management of sites. Management plans will be developed, advancing progress towards sustainable forest management. Manage Cookie Preferences