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Biodiversity is our life insurance, but it is under threat. The COVID19 crisis has dramatically changed our lives; and it has also brought to the forefront the crucial need to better preserve biodiversity. Our lives and economies rely on nature. France, together with the United Nations and the World Bank, is organizing a "One Planet Summit" for biodiversity on 11 January 2021 in Paris. The Summit will bring together heads of state and government, leaders of international organizations, financial institutions, companies and NGOs, all ready to demonstrate that their commitments are leading to concrete actions to preserve and restore biodiversity, and to lead systemic transformations of our economies. This high-level meeting is a major milestone for the political mobilization for nature in 2021, the year that should lead to an ambitious new international agreement on biodiversity. At the summit, UNCCD presents the Great Green Wall Initiative – a game-changing African-led project that aims to restore degraded landscapes and improve millions of lives in one of the world’s poorest regions, the Sahel. The Great Green Wall Initiative is regreening the Sahel, restoring degraded lands and providing decent livelihoods for its people, snaking the Sahel all the way from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East, restoring degraded lands and providing jobs and opportunities for millions of people in Africa. 

In a post COVID context where Sahelian countries are struggling with budgets and funding, the new commitments launched at One Planet Summit will help meet financial requirements and turbo charge the achievement of GGW goals. To complete the Wall, it is estimated that USD 33 billion US dollars of investment – from private, national and international sources will be needed. 

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