Somaliland's Major Environmental Challenges

Ahmed Ibrahim Awale

ABSTRACT

According to the writings of foreign travelers who visited Somaliland during late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the region has been well endowed with and known for its rich floristic and faunistic diversity with high degree of endemism. Over the years, however, the integrity of the environment was seriously compromised, and today what can be witnessed is a sad contrast with the past.

The British colonial administration, established in the late 1940’s the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) covering agriculture, livestock, forests, wildlife and rangeland conservation and protection. This institution carried out many interventions, including recruitment and training of foresters, forest guards, range guards, and establishment of range grazing reserves, as well as formulation of forest conservation and protection policies. Subsequent governments also maintained some sort of environmental conservation and protection actions even though they were not keeping pace with the scale of the then on-going environmental degradation.

 

Wagar Mountain: One of the few unspoiled areas in the country.

One of the most popular definitions of sustainable development made popular by the World Commission on Environment and Development, otherwise known as Brundtland Commission (1983), implies a pattern of resource utilization that ‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generation’. 

Good governance and peace are two prerequisites to achieving sustainable development. The present writer believes that during the long history of Somali existence, there is no other times whereby the integrity of the environment was compromised than the following two periods: The first was the wide scale instability during the first quarter of the 20^th century at a time the British authorities in Somaliland were struggling to defeat the Dervishes of Sayid Mohamed Abdulla Hassan. The last quarter of the same century till present day also saw a similar situation whereby lawlessness was the order of the day. One of the outcomes of such hostile situations was the change in land use and traditional movement of pastoralists. The resultant overgrazing, deforestation and over-stretched of rangelands’ carrying capacities led to destitution and massive movement of populations as internally displaced persons (IDPs).  

This paper will attempt to discuss some of the major environmental issues in the country which pose significant challenges to the realization of sustainable development. It also outlines some recommendations for mitigating those challenges.  

INTRODUCTION

Nearly a couple of years back, the Horn of Africa was hit by one of the worst droughts in sixty years. More than 11 million people were affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia/Somaliland and Uganda and the situation continues to deteriorate. The main climatic trigger for the drought is widely believed to be La Niña, a cyclical meteorological phenomenon affecting rainfall in Africa and elsewhere.   However, what has made the Horn of Africa one of the most vulnerable regions in the world is the combined effects of extreme poverty, conflicts, and accelerated environmental degradation in the region, climate change and poor governance.

Somaliland is a microcosm of this bigger picture and therefore is subject to the effects of these challenges.  Ecologically, the country has been undergoing transformations which are characterized by diminishing natural resources, rising human and livestock pressure, unabated environmental degradation, and population movements. 

Descriptions and photographs of some parts of Somaliland by the end of the 19^th century, such as those by Major H.G.C. Swayne, recorded that the country was then “park like” with abundant trees and grass and teeming with wildlife.  In his words, “elephants could be seen roaming or resting in the shade of large trees and the Wild Ass was then so common and tame that shooting it was no sport….”  Almost all the big animals have long gone even before the civil war (1988) due to poaching and habitat loss.

Today the country is so degraded and denuded. The reduction in the vegetation cover is also very notable when comparisons are made between the current situation and those described by earlier travelers. 

Deterioration of rangeland integrity has been recognized by the British colonial authorities as early as the 1930’s.  In one report (1946), P. E. Glover and his research team attempted to make tree counts in different parts of the country to find out what proportion of the trees were dead, cut or mutilated in relation to the proportion of uncut young trees. In one sample, they counted 15,422 plants of which 11,218 were damaged and only 2,146 were young, of which 1,172 were seedlings whose chances of survival were extremely slim because grazing was so intense.  Now, more than half a century later, if the above data is compared to the current situation, one could hardly see a plant which is not either maimed or misused.

MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES FACING THE COUNTRY

a)      Deforestation

Deforestation, with its devastating effects, is one of the most debated issues in the country.  Unfortunately the attention afforded to this issue either by the government, development agencies, private sector and direct resource users is minimal or non-existent. In the past three decades, the rate of deforestation, in response to the rising demand for charcoal, wood for construction and establishment of enclosures has been rising to an extent that millions of hectares of woodlands have been cleared. Biomass is the main and, indeed, the only traditional source of energy for Somaliland populations. Charcoal is the principal energy producing fuel commonly used in urban areas for cooking, whereas firewood is commonly popular in rural settlements. With increasing populations and high urbanization rate, the demand for charcoal has been rising exponentially.

 Deforestation is contributing to diminishing rangelands integrity, water ineffectiveness and watershed degradation. It is causing severe soil erosion and compaction, and flash floods with destructive effects.  Moreover, deforestation is a direct threat to rural livelihoods as Somaliland’s domestic economy is heavily dependent on pastoral production.

b)     Soil erosion

As a result of overall decline in biomass production, reduced ground cover, litter and organic matter content and the resultant soil compaction, large tracts of land became exposed to increased runoff and erosion processes such as rill erosion and gully erosion.  Shifting sands is also becoming more common in many areas, particularly in treeless plains (ban) causing transportation and deposition of soil material.  The main causes of soil erosion are over-grazing, deforestation, inappropriate agricultural practices and woodland fires.

c)      Climate change and Droughts

Remarkable increase of temperatures in higher altitude ecological zones and elsewhere compared to earlier periods is being experienced. Nowadays one could hardly hear words used to describe severe cold conditions such as “gabadano, gawre and juube”.  Extreme weather conditions such as decrease in precipitation levels, soaring temperatures, increase in the frequency of droughts and flash floods are becoming more common.  Moreover, there are changes in the biological succession of some of the plants in certain vegetation zones. For example, the unexplained high mortality of Acacia tortilis {Qudhac} and Balanities orbicularis {Kulan} in the Guban areas is a disturbing trend.  Changes in weather patterns have also contributed to the disturbance of calendars for both livestock mating and crop production.  The cumulative effects of climate change led to erosion of assets and deterioration of livelihoods among pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Somaliland. Climate change has also led to an increased drift of rural population to the urban centers.

d)     Wildlife poaching

By the turn of the last century, much of the wildlife of Somaliland, particularly the big mammals such as elephants, lions, the Somali Wild Ass (Equus asinus somalicus), Oryx (Oryx gazelle), Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei (‘Siig’) and others has been decimated in numbers, some of them to extinction levels. The last elephant in Somaliland is believed to have died in Dibiraweyn of Awdal region in 1958.  The present site of Hargeisa city is now characterized by bleak and bare surrounding hills and its seasonal water course which bisects it  still carries the name ‘Maroodi-jeex’ or the Valley of the Elephants!  Traditionally, hunting wildlife for subsistence and economic gain was an uncommon practice and indeed was regarded as the task of the inferiors. Political unrest during the past three decades has created better access to automatic weapons. Therefore, other than poaching and illegal exportation of wildlife to the Arabian countries, habitat loss is another major cause for their decimation.

Among the most common wildlife species remaining are the baboon (Papio hamadryas), warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) which have been prohibited from hunting by the religious belief that consuming their meat is impure.  Speke’s gazelle and Gerenuks can still be encountered in few numbers, while Dik-dik (Madoqua spp.) are still numerous, thanks to their small body size which makes it a difficult target for poachers using guns.  Remaining carnivores include hyena, bat-eared fox, wild cat (Felix lybica).

e)      Garbage and pollution

With rising urban populations, the inadequate municipal services and low public environmental awareness, waste litter has been crowding all major urban centers. The most eye-catching thing is the plastic bags strewn everywhere and hanging from acacia trees. In the rural areas, these bags, when not disposed of properly, are eaten by livestock (due to shortage of browse and grass) and consequently contribute to the death of large number of animals.

Because of the inefficient garbage collection and disposal system in Hargeisa, the largest city in the country with a population of three-quarter of a million, inhabitants dump garbage in the nearest ditch or place available,  and to their relief, if rains come, the runoff water carries the garbage all the way to the Gulf of Aden, with its dire consequences on the marine life such as sea turtles mistaking plastic bags and pellets as authentic food, or sea birds mistaking for a fish egg causing the clogging of their intestines and their eventual death.

Improper disposal of effluents such as those originating from tanneries and the existing few factories – many of them improperly sited in or near residential areas or water sources – render water unsafe for any domestic use and also represent potential hazard to human health.

f)       Unsustainable fishing practices

As Somaliland’s terrestrial ecosystems continue to be degraded and over-exploited on one hand, and human needs continue to increase on the other, more and more people are determined to earn a living by venturing into the sea. 

Culturally and historically, Somalis have never been dependant on fish for their nutritional needs and their knowledge on the sea has been very limited. This might be the reason why Somali call a ‘man-eating fish’ as ‘Libaax-badeed’ or ‘Sea Lion’ because lions used to abound in their lands. However although there are high prevalence of nutritional deficits among the local population, it is unfortunate that  foreign fishing vessels  (particularly from Yemen) maintain continuous presence in the sea and in many cases inside the twelve nautical mile territorial range of the coast intended to be utilized by artisanal fisher folks.  Selective fishing practice where higher value species in the sea are collected and the rest are dumped into the sea is often reported by local fishing associations who have also been raising their concerns through the local media.

Somaliland authorities have their own licensing mechanisms and assigning monitors to board some of those vessels, but because of the inadequacy of surveillance mechanisms in terms of knowledge, capacity and logistical arrangement, there are gaps in carrying out the strict monitoring required for the sustainable utilization fishery resources. As a result, as reported by artisanal fisher folks, there has been a continuous decline of fish catches.

g)      Institutional challenges and low public awareness

Lack of political will and commitment to protect the environment is exemplified in the fact that the ministry which is mandated for environmental conservation and protection is one of the least funded government institutions. There is also absence of regional cooperation on issues related to environment. For example, while the Somaliland government recognizes charcoal export as an illicit trade, large quantities of charcoal harvested from the eastern regions are marketed in Puntland with a portion of these quantities ending in the Arabian markets.

In Somaliland, while there are number of natural resource management policies in writing, their implementation, like many other existing policies, is a sure challenge.  Those policies include the newly reviewed Somaliland Environmental Policy.

RECOMMENDATION

a)      Devastation of woodlands poses a great threat to the environment and the livelihoods of the pastoral and agro-pastoral communities.  Therefore, there is a need to crucially address this issue through reduction of dependence on charcoal which is the main contributory factor to the denudation of the land. This can be addressed through popularization, diversification and adoption of viable alternative energies.  Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is slowly being adopted.  Also studies aimed at determining the magnitude, quality and economics of exploitation of local coal deposits is recommended. If successful, suitable coal (briquette) stoves for domestic use could be introduced. Moreover, exemption of tax on kerosene, LPG and energy saving materials and appliances is necessary.

b)      There is a need to activate the various natural resource management policies and legislations. However, a major challenge facing the concerned government institutions to live up to their mandates is the paucity of resources. Capacitating and empowering these institutions to deal with those challenges through trainings and material support could be an important step to address this challenge.

c)      There is also a need to initiate techniques towards the recycling and salvage of garbage. This will contribute to cleaner and healthier environment, more jobs and income for many people. On the other hand, an in-depth analysis of the current garbage management initiatives and why it is not serving the purpose need to be conducted and the necessary remedial actions be taken to address this problem.

d)      Somaliland is not recognized internationally as a nation and therefore not represented in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) either as a party or as an observer status. This is one of the reasons why the country is not involved in any international efforts on mitigation or adaptation to climate change. Despite its isolation, Somaliland should develop its own strategies to deal with the issue of climate change at local level. Linking civil society and government organizations with the political instruments of the UNFCCC and other forums of international advocacy work on climate change can lead to opening new horizons for cooperation and support.

REFERENCES:

1.      Ahmed Ibrahim Awale, Climate Change Stole Our Mist, Candlelight study (2007)

2.      Ahmed Ibrahim Awale, Environment in Crisis – Collected Essays with Focus on Somali Environment (2010), ponteinvisible.com, Pisa, Italy

3.      Ahmed Jama Sugulle & Ahmed I. Awale, Perennial Plant Mortality in the Guban Areas of Somaliland, Candlelight study

4.      Omer H. Dualeh & Abdillahi Hassan Magan (2005), Alternatives Energies and Reduction of Dependence on Charcoal in Somaliland, Candlelight Study

5.      Glover, P.E, a Provisional Check-list of British and Italian Somaliland Trees, Shrubs and Herbs (1947).

6.      Hartmann, Ingrid et al, The Impact of Climate Change on Pastoralism in Salahey and Balli-Gubadle Districts of Somaliland, Candlelight study (November 2009)

7.      Jama Mohamed, The Political Ecology of Colonial Somaliland,  Africa, 2004, Vol. 74 Issue

8.      Swayne, M.G.C, Seventeen Trips through Somaliland, (1890), Kessinger Publishing’s Legacy Reprints.