Greening Somalia

Through mass planting of indigenous plants in Somalia and raising public awareness about environmental protection through science-based solutions, SONRREC initiated, funded, and implemented the Land Restoration and Re-Greening Program to counter climate change's adverse effects on Somalia's natural resources sectors. The Somali Natural Resources Research Center's Green Peace Initiative aligns with the president of Somalia's policy agenda on greening Somalia, the National Development Plan, and sectoral priorities and policies to achieve the vision and strategies of the federal government of Somalia to restore degraded land and protect the ecosystem.

Land degradation is Somalia's most significant environmental issue, closely associated with desertification, drought, and other climatic-related disasters that adversely affect pastoral and agro-pastoral communities. A large portion of Somalia's livelihood is derived from agriculture and livestock, making the country highly vulnerable to the impacts of environmental problems.

SONRREC developed its policy agenda based on its study that suggests planting indigenous trees is the most effective and scientifically proven method of reclaiming Somalia's degraded lands and combating climate change to prevent desertification and biodiversity losses and preserve the ecosystem. Moreover, the study also suggests a holistic approach for climate security nexus to peace and development and linking climate change to enterprises and communities.

To implement this policy agenda, SONRREC has taken a locally-own and locally invested-national green initiative with a vision of planting a Billion trees in Somalia, followed by the Somali's Presidents' policy agenda for a greener Somalia.