ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Somalia’s natural resources fall into three broad categories listed bellow;

1. Surface resources such as forest, forest products and surface water
2. Subsurface resources such as groundwater, rocks, minerals and fossil fuel
3. Marine resources

Natural resources form the basis of people’s livelihoods in Somalia, with over 65 percent of the population accounts pastoralism for their livelihood, livestock and livestock products contribute to over 40 percent of GDP and more than 50 percent of export earnings (African Development Bank, 2013). Therefore this sector is the mainstay of the economy and is reliant on the goods and services provided by rangeland eco-systems. In addition to livestock, the country exports Frankincense and Myrrh (FAO, 1995), also dependent on the health of terrestrial ecosystems. The country is thus heavily dependent on natural resources for livelihoods and economic growth that underscoring the importance of the sustainable environment and natural resource management in Somalia.

The pre-colonial environment and natural resource management in Somalia maintained by traditional and communal system of land rights with access being negotiated between clans and pre-war government legislations co-opted the communal system and going step further to create buffer zones between clans and grazing blocks to reduce inter clan conflicts. However, in the absence of government during the civil war, the communal system of natural resource management has been abandoned that resulted unsustainable exploitation of natural resources

In conclusion, the major environmental challenges of Somalia constitute;

1. Land degradation: Soil erosion, overgrazing, illegal charcoal, shifting cultivation, sand mining, overhunting, breakdown of traditional forms of land management and climate change
2. Inadequate access to safe water: Poorly planned location of boreholes and wells, lack of aquifer maps, failure to protect sources from pollution, open defecation, overuse of water sources, climate change
3. Urban waste & pollution: Indiscriminate dumping of waste, lack of sewerage and liquid waste treatment and lack or poor regulation of waste management.

RAAS Interventions on Environment and Natural Resource Management.

1. Promotion of community based integrated environment and natural resources management through rehabilitation and sustainable use of land, forest, wildlife, rangeland and water resources. The program shall apply demand driven approach enabling full involvement of the target communities in the decision-making process and identification of local solutions, applicable interventions of alternative livelihoods, income generations, establishment and support of community based integrated environment and natural resource management at village, district and regional levels linking to the line Ministries of the Federal member states and Federal Government of Somalia.
2. Improvement of water resource through an integrated landscape management approach with focus on sustainability and climate change. The programme shall promote community-based integrated rainwater harvesting and watershed management to ensure environmentally sustainable climate resilient water provisions at strategic places through construction, rehabilitation and expansion of earth pans, sand-dams or subsurface dams and rock catchments We link these interventions to the rangeland management and vegetation recovery.
3. Promotion of alternative energy including biogas, solar and wind, as well as conservation of energy through introduction of energy efficient cook stoves and sustainable charcoal production.
4. Establishing community based early warning system through participatory research and learning, as well as linking traditional early warning knowledge in to conventional early warning.
5. Promotion of solid/liquid waste management entrepreneur in collaboration with the municipalities through built, manage and transfer (BMT) approach in urban and pre-urban areas.
6. Promotion of forestry, agroforestry and rainwater harvesting management for the re-greening of environment and development of value chain on biodiversity ecosystem services and goods.
7. Capacity building support for local government, relevant line ministries, strengthening formal and informal community based structures on natural resource management.