Key policies and governance approach

Some steps have been taken by the Somali Government to address deforestation, including the prohibition of the export of charcoal and firewood in 1969, an order meant to protect trees [4]. However, this ban was reversed barely 6 years later [3], and following the onset of the civil war, export oriented charcoal production multiplied and has expanded rapidly ever since [8]. Following this, several UN Security Council Resolutions on Somalia have focused on stopping illegal charcoal production in the country. Included is Resolution 2036 (2012) which calls on Somali authorities to “take the necessary measures to prevent the export of charcoal from Somalia.” This Resolution also calls upon “all Member States [to] take the necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect import of charcoal from Somalia, whether or not such charcoal originated in Somalia” [3].

Somalia has also put in place several relevant policies and strategies, including: the National Environment Policy (2019), which aims to promote sustainable development through the sound management of the country’s natural resources, including its forests [9]; the Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (2021), which proposes both climate mitigation and adaptation actions for the forest sector [10]; the National Voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality Targets (2020), which includes a target to increase the national forest cover from 10.14% (2015) to 10.20% (2022) and to maintain 30% forest cover by 2030, through agroforestry and sustainable land management [11]; and the National Energy Policy (2018), which promotes the widespread production, use and storage of renewable energy as a way to reduce deforestation pressures for biomass energy generation [12].

Further, a National Charcoal Policy is now in place to counter deforestation [5]. This policy aims to halt the export of charcoal from Somalia and to regulate its domestic consumption in a sustainable manner in order to minimize the negative socioeconomic and environmental impacts of domestic charcoal production, including deforestation. The policy will also pave the way for promoting alternative energy sources by providing alternative livelihoods to the charcoal value chain beneficiaries involved in the charcoal production and trade [12].

Successes and remaining challenges

Somalia’s early attempts to enforce a ban on charcoal trade and production were unsuccessful, as they did not consider all elements surrounding trade and production. These attempts exclusively focused on issuing legal instruments with absolutely no provisions to holistically support the enforcement mechanisms, particularly, in a crisis context prevailing in Somalia. This consequently resulted in an increase in illegal exports of charcoal from Somalia. Furthermore, the livelihoods of Charcoal Value Chain Beneficiaries were not considered, nor were alternative sources of energy provided for poor communities, particularly women in urban and rural areas who are using charcoal for cooking. Using the lessons learned from these past failures [8], the Government of Somalia has now developed the National Charcoal Policy, which should be fully implemented  [9].

However, overall, capacity for environmental governance and natural resources management in Somalia remains generally limited, and, at best, can only be described as fragmented. Further, the country has no forest management regulations, an absence of forest certification and no forest management agency. As such, there is virtually no institutional framework that would serve as an anchor for forest resources stewardship in Somalia [3].

Initiatives and Development Plans

In 2016, the Programme for Sustainable Charcoal Reduction and Alternative Livelihoods (PROSCAL) was launched, a collaboration between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) [7]. This Programme aims to reduce demand for charcoal while also providing Somalis with alternative options for clean energy and sustainable livelihoods.

The first major component of the project is to build the capacity of those in power, and to build awareness of the environmental issues associated with charcoal production. This has been taking place on a local, national, and regional level, including working to influence and develop policy, and engaging local and international media. Within Somalia, the project has worked with all levels of government, supporting the development of a national charcoal policy, but also strengthening the capacity of Somalia’s sub-federal states, which often lack even the most basic resources, such as stationery and internet access.

The second component is to reduce demand for charcoal inside Somalia. The project has been doing this through producing and distributing fuel-efficient stoves. Beyond individual households, the project has been promoting investment in liquid gas petroleum and the first biogas project in Mogadishu.

The final component of the project, led by FAO, is promoting alternative livelihoods, such as livestock raising, horticulture, and beekeeping, for those currently working in charcoal production.

So far, the Programme has achieved the following: i). the first ever multilateral meeting was held between the Federal Republic of Somalia, neighbouring countries and the Gulf States to support the Somalia charcoal ban; ii). the development of the cross-governmental National Charcoal Policy; iii). Somali journalists from television and radio have been trained on environmental reporting; iv). over 6,000 households have switched to energy-efficient stoves, including 700 fuel-efficient stoves distributed to internally displaced people in Puntland; v). a one-house, one-tree campaign has been carried out across Puntland, with over 3,000 new trees planted in Bosaso alone; and vi). over 5,000 people – nearly half of them women – from across Somalia have been made aware of the negative impacts of charcoal production and trained in positive and sustainable agricultural practices [13].