Enhancing climate resilience of vulnerable communities and ecosystems in Somalia

Approximately 70% of Somalis are dependent on climate-sensitive agriculture and pastoralism. As floods and droughts become more severe and frequent in Somalia, there is a need to find approaches that can reduce the sensitivity of farmers and pastoralists to increasing rainfall variability. With natural resource degradation also rampant throughout Somalia, most notably for the production of charcoal, Somalia is becoming increasingly vulnerable to conflicts over scarce resources.

Climate change and resource scarcity are exacerbated by the absence of policies on land-use and disaster risk management at the national level. At local levels, communities lack the financial, technical and informational resources needed to build their resilience to climate change as well as the knowledge of how to prepare for extreme weather impacts. Women especially in rural areas are one of the most vulnerable groups in Somalia. Within the women-headed households, women are traditionally responsible for growing food, gathering fuel and water, cooking, and raising children. The division of labour, along with unequal access to both material and non-material resources, and diminished participation for women in decision-making in political and private spheres increases their vulnerability against the impacts of climate change.

To address these issues, LDCF financing will be used to support ministries, districts, NGOs/CBOs to integrate climate change risks in Natural Resource Management and disaster preparedness. Climate risk management will be institutionalized from national to local levels. CBOs will be revitalized to take the lead on implementing community-based Ecosystem-based flood preparedness and other adaptation measures.

To support community-led activities, water will be captured using small scale infrastructure and flood impacts will be reduced with water diversion techniques and reforestation. With 73% of the population under 30 years of age, youth; both boys and girls will be sensitised with climate change knowledge so that they can serve understaffed ministries and support CBO efforts on-the-ground. Furthermore, the project will empower women to market and to scale-up distribution of adaptation technologies, providing women an improved asset base. With such activities aimed to support resilience to climate change, in conjunction with other on-going initiatives of relevance outlined in this project document, LDCF resources are expected to also build governing and planning capacities at the national and district levels and to enhance the adaptive capacity of vulnerable populations throughout Somalia.

Expected Outputs

Overall output: Environmental and natural resources utilized and managed in a sustainable, equitable, gender, disaster risk and conflict-sensitive manner, in order to improve livelihoods of people, enhance food security and reduce poverty, through the formulation and implementation of strategic policies.

CCR projects has been designed in consultation with the FGS and regional member states.  The two key expected outputs of the project are as follows:
•    Output 1: Policies, plans and tools reviewed, revised, developed, adopted and implemented by government to mainstream and enhance adaptive capacity and mitigate the risks of climate change on vulnerable communities and critical ecosystem services.
•    Output 2: Models of community and ecosystem resilience developed and implemented in pilot areas selected in consultation with government and community stakeholders.

 



What have we accomplished so far?

The  CCR Projects so far contributed to the following results:

•    Somaliland land National land policy finalised and Puntland Puntland’s regional disaster management strategy draft initiated LOA with HADMA.
•    Formulation of National Development Plan (NDP) with mainstreamed gender and climate aspects is ongoing. Completion of draft NDP anticipated in the Q4 of 2016.
•    Somalia covered under Regional Climate Change Strategy for the IGAD member states. Regional Strategy to provide the basis for the National Climate Change Strategy for Somalia to be finalised during 2016.  
•    Feasibility and detail designs were prepared for physical interventions in Middle Shebelle, Hiraan and Galgaduud regions.
•     Water and land management approaches to mitigate the impacts of climatic extreme events have been implemented in Puntland and Somaliland.
•     The Somalia delegation to 21st meeting of Conference of Parties in Paris of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21 of UNFCCC) was supported by UNDP.  Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) report for Somalia was submitted to UNFCCC Secretariat ahead of COP 21.
•    Construction and completion of Two 50,000 m3 earth dams and 3-water diversions structures in Puntland
•    Construction and completion of 186-check dams and 10 gabion constructions, 1270-soil bunds and 200-stone bunds in Somaliland
•    Rehabilitation of 18 water berkeds in SL
•    100 households received 2hrs of tractor tillages in SL
•    Installation of solar system to electrify a boarding school in SL
•    Training of 100 women  farmers  on Integrative  Farming , water management and small scale business enterprise and another 60women on water management and small scale business enterprise in SL
•    Events of World Environment Day (WED) have been commemorated at national and regional states level where the community awareness on environmental protection raised. As part of the awareness campaign tree plantation was done in Somaliland and Puntland.

Impact

START DATE

January 2015

END DATE

December 2022

STATUS

Completed

PROJECT OFFICE

Somalia

IMPLEMENTING PARTNER

United Nations Development Programme

DONORS

Global Environment Fund Trustee

MDTFO Somalia UN Stream

UN DEPT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

UNDP Funding Windows

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

UNOCHA

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS

$21,792,773

DELIVERY IN PREVIOUS YEARS

2015$0

2016$2,010,597

2017$2,710,330

2018$5,570,172

2019$3,362,661

2020$4,313,743

2021$185,245

2022$70,692

Full Project information