Green Climate Fund Approves $43 Million for Algeria’s Barrage Vert

Algeria has secured its first project financed by the Green Climate Fund, with the UN fund's board approving a $43 million grant to reinforce the Barrage Vert. This significant international contribution forms part of a larger $99.5 million total project budget. Algeria is co-financing the initiative with $56.5 million, representing 57 percent of the investment, a share highlighted by the Green Climate Fund. The project is supervised by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and implemented through a collaboration between Algeria's General Directorate of Forests and the FAO office in Algeria.

The seven-year project is designed to expand the Barrage Vert, originally launched in 1971 to combat desertification and relaunched on October 29, 2023. The aim is to increase its total area from 3.7 million to 4.7 million hectares. The grant specifically targets communes within six wilayas—Naâma and El Bayadh in the west, M’Sila and Djelfa in the center, and Tébessa and Khenchela in the east—which collectively host over half of the country's nomadic population. Within these areas, the project will cover 454,138 hectares, focusing on restoring more than 59,000 hectares of degraded lands, including forests, pastures, dunes, and agricultural areas.

Key initiatives within the project include providing 190 solar energy kits to isolated rural households for uses such as refrigeration and product processing. Additionally, 240 hydroponic fodder units will be established to feed over 25,000 livestock throughout the year. The project will also facilitate access to financing for rural micro-enterprises, with a commitment that at least half of these will be led by women. It will further support climate-adapted sectors such as prickly pear, olive, rosemary, wool, alfa, and peppermint, contributing to both environmental sustainability and economic diversification. These comprehensive actions are expected to reduce or store 540,355 tons of CO2 equivalent by the project's conclusion.

The Minister of Agriculture, Sid Ali Khaldi, emphasized the grant's substantial contribution to the revival of the Barrage Vert, acknowledging Algeria's foundational experience in such efforts since the 1970s. The project is set to benefit over one million people residing in arid and semi-arid zones, directly impacting more than 142,000 farmers, herders, and pastoralists, over a third of whom are women. This international funding complements Algeria's ongoing national reforestation efforts, which have already planted 42,376 hectares between 2023 and 2026, with plans for an additional 34,000 hectares. The project's holistic approach integrates environmental protection with the creation of rural employment opportunities.