[4] The idea re-emerged in 2002, at the special summit in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, on the occasion of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.

In 2007, CHSG[citation needed] directed the project to tackle the social, economic and environmental impacts of land degradation and desertification.

The countries Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Chad thereafter created the Panafrican Agency of the Great Green Wall (PAGGW).

[9] According to AMCEN, the Great Green Wall is a flagship program that will contribute to the goal of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or RIO+20, of "a land degradation neutral world".

[10] In 2014, the European Union and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, in collaboration with African and other regional partners, launched the Action Against Desertification program to build on the GGWSSI.

[3] On the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the launch of the program, a report was commissioned by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and published on September 7, 2020.

[24] In January 2021, the project received a boost at the One Planet Summit, where its partners pledged USD 14.3 billion to launch the Great Green Wall Accelerator, aimed at facilitating the collaboration and coordination among donors and involved stakeholders across 11 countries.

[2] According to the second edition of the Global Land Outlook (GLO2) published by the (UNCCD) in April of 2022 one reason the project has experienced implementation challenges is the political risk associated with investing in more fragile nations as well as the fact that many "GGW projects generate low economic returns compared to the significant environmental and social benefits accrued that often have little or no market value."

[2] The Initiative brings together more than 20 countries, including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, The Gambia, and Tunisia.

[citation needed] The GGWSSI intends to strengthen existing mechanisms (such as Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program, Environmental Program (CAADP) of New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), regional, sub-regional, and national action programmes to combat desertification) to improve their efficiency through synergy and coordination activities.

[3] As of 2023, the Great Green Wall was reported as "facing the risk of collapse" due to terrorist threats, absence of political leadership, and insufficient funding.