Several initiatives, just like the Reforestation 1400 and the Great Green Wall projects, were launched in these two Central African countries with the aim of restoring deforested sites and combating desertification in the Sahel. As the climate heats up, changes in rainfall patterns can cause longer dry spells on the southern boundaries of the Sahara, stretching the desert further down, and affecting nearly a million people and their livelihoods. But deforestation of newly reforested areas is a common challenge facing these projects scattered around this hot climate.