Somalia International Conference on Charcoal, Mogadishu, 7–8 May, 2018 Somalia’s Degrading ENVIRONMENT – Causes and Consequences of Deforestation Dr Abdullahi Elmi Mohamed PhD, MSc, ME, MA Senior Environment and Water Expert

With the Forests in Our Minds With the Beled-Weyne People in Our Minds

Somalia – A Deforested Country Somalia experienced worst deforestation in history - Somalia has meagre forest resources - Acacia is the most dominant tree species - The degradation is at an alarming rate - Serious impacts (environ., econ., and social) Deforestation – the result of charcoal - Millions of trees have been cut and burned - Charcoal export to the Gulf States “luxuries” - Somalia’s Black Gold after the livestock ban - Charcoal for urban and firewood for rural - Violations of domestic & international rules.

Causes of Deforestation in Somalia Felling of trees for firewood Cutting of trees for building materials Clearing of land for cultivation Cutting and burning of trees for charcoal

Charcoal ready for transport

Factors driving charcoal in domestic use Lack of sustainable sources of energy supplies Weak institutions with no sufficient capacities and resources Lack of policies and plans for developing potential energy resources Lack of investments

Factors driving the Charcoal Export Absence of rule of law and lack of government system Foreign demands for charcoal – the major driving force Somalia’s geographical position Existence and availability of transport Lack of strong civil society organization Changed landownership and property rights regimes

Destructive ideas behind the conduct Who cares about environment? Supersize Me “Mar-i-cayili”

Estimation of charcoal production Each tree produces 7 – 10 sacks of charcoal Each sack of charcoal weighs 15 – 20 kg An average household consumes 3 sacks per month One household consumes 36 sacks per year. Equivalent to 4 trees (4 trees is burned for 1 family) 100 000 households consume 400 000 trees In total, Somalia consumes 8 million trees per year. Charcoal exported to the Gulf States: 250 000 tonnes of charcoal annually (1 650 000 tons). 4.4 million of trees are felled annually (11 million)

Loss of forestland (1991-2018) Between 1990 – 2005 Somali lost 14% of its forest cover – over 1 million hectares of land. Between 2005 – 2018 is not know yet. The rate could be much more than 1990 – 2005. Damages to the forests caused both economic and ecological losses. Large amount of sediment loads, resulted from soil erosion from the deforestation, along the rivers, deposit in the river beds, contribute to river flooding.

Consequences of Deforestation in Somalia Increased soil erosion Disruption of water cycles Increased desertification Reduced biodiversity Climate change Disruption of livelihood Local conflicts and national insecurity Bankrupting common resources

Cyclic Causes of Social Unrest Conflict Injustice Social Unrest Poverty Environmental Degradation

The Way Forward Creation of Ministry of Environment Establishment of NEPA under the Ministry Organizing Somali environmental conference Studying and addressing environmental Issues Initiating a national awareness raising programs Building alliance against charcoal export Strengthening of existing collaboration Providing new sources of energy supply Collaborating with environmental organizations Participating in environmental forums Drafting a new law banning charcoal export Developing national policy on deforestation