| Somalia | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | The Horn of Northeastern Africa | ||||||||||||||||||
| National websites | The ACG Somalia Page, UPENN Somalia Page | ||||||||||||||||||
| Embassy / Chancery in U.S. | ceased diplomatic relations with US May 8, 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation | Due to a lack of centralized government, Somalia has no official office in charge of the environment | ||||||||||||||||||
| Non-governmental organizations concerned with conservation | Somali Environmental Protection
and Anti-Desertification Organization P.O.BOX 27750, Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates (UAE) Tel: +971 -2 - 787 442 Fax: +971- 187-02215 243 |
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| Major Natural Resources | Somalia
is a land of few natural
resources, although it is believed it may
contain significant natural mineral resources.
Currently only 15% of the land is considered arable, and
grasslands for livestock are disappearing as
desertification becomes a greater problem each year.
Despite harsh conditions, flora
indigenous to northern Somalia includes the
trees that produce the resins frankincense and myrrh. In
the south trees include eucalyptus, mahogany, and
euphoria trees. Big game wildlife is also currently
abundant in Somalia and includes elephants,
crocodiles, giraffes, leopards, lions and zebras, though
their numbers are being threatened as poaching
increases. Sources for this paragraph: Arabnet, SEPADO, and CIA FACTBOOK |
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| Major Environmental and Conservation Issues | Due to war and a lack
of centralized government, Somalia faces many problems
protecting it's environmental resources. Among Somalia's
problems are: poaching, the burning of trees for charcoal
to export, foreign fishing in Somalian waters, and the
dumping of nuclear waste on Somali land by
foreign nations. As the Somali population is
largely a nomadic, trees are often cut to make temporary
shelters. This along with the desire to make
charcoal in exchange for hard currency, has led many
people to add to Somalia's desertification process.
Without a central government to guard Somalia's
resources, foreign agents have begun to deplete
them. Swiss and Italian firms were accused last
year of entering to agreements with the Somali
government, allowing the dumping of nuclear waste even
though it violated international treaties. Sources for this paragraph: SEPADO, Trade and Environment Database, and CIA FACTBOOK |
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| Statistics | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Land area | 627,340 Sq. km | The World Bank, Agriculture Resources Dept. | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of forest | 758 Ha. | The World Bank, Agricultural Resources Dept. | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of wetlands | Due to the arid climate of Somalia, there are very few areas that would even be considered wetlands | The World Bank, Agricultural Resources Dept. | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of territorial waters | 10,320 Sq. km | The World Bank, Agricultural Resources Dept. | |||||||||||||||||
| Population: 10.7 million | Density: | 44/Sq.mi | |||||||||||||||||
| Area protected (ha) (only areas >1000 ha) at all IUCN levels: | 180 | Fraction of land area protected (%): | 0.3 | The World Bank, Agricultural Resources Dept. | |||||||||||||||
| Major Protected Areas | Due to larger administrative issues, Somalia has only a rudimentary system of protected areas, consisting mostly of game reserves and one area (Luc Badana) nominally a national park but failing to meet UN criteria for such parks. | Britannica Online | |||||||||||||||||
| Somali Species Endemic to North African Region |
|
The World Bank, Agricultural Resources Dept. | |||||||||||||||||
| Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species |
|
World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Extinct Species |
|
World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Species listed on CITES Appendices | CITES-listed Species Database | ||||||||||||||||||
| Legislation | |||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered or threatened species | only CITES which prevents trade in wildlife products | ||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered ecosystems | None, but SEPADO would like to raise the Somali envirnonmentalconsciousness and protect many of the grasslands Somalis depend on for livestock grazing. Unmaintained roads encourage heavy offroad driving, which destroys the grassland and promotes desertification. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to CITES | December 2, 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity | 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Member of International Whaling Commission | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources | Biodiversity Action Plan 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Natural Resource Use | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fisheries | National Marine Catch: 14,600 tons | World Bank | |||||||||||||||||
| Forestry / deforestation | 7,713,000 cu. meters of wood was exported in the form of charcoal in 1993 alone. | World Bank | |||||||||||||||||
| Ecotourism | In war-torn Somalia, the United States Advises against tourism. | CIA Factbook | |||||||||||||||||
| Trade in wildlife products | The World Bank reports that Somalia has an 80% compliance rate with CITES, but recent poaching suggests otherwise. | World Bank | |||||||||||||||||
| Hunting | Considering the increasing Somali dependency on foreign aid for food, the incidents of poaching may not be merely for wildlife products. | SEPADO | |||||||||||||||||
| Other uses of natural resources | 59% of the GDP of Somalia's economy goes into agriculture, that is farming the 15% of Somalia's land that is considered arable or raising livestock on Somalia's grasslands.. | CIA Factbook | |||||||||||||||||
| Human Impacts on Natural Resources | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Air pollution | The burning of Somali trees to mass-produce charcoal releases a lot of CO2 and smoke into the air. | SEPADO | |||||||||||||||||
| Water pollution | Contaminated water leads to all kinds of health problems for Somalis | The World Bank, Agricultural Resources Dept. | |||||||||||||||||
| Development activities | Actually, it is the lack of development on the part of the government or organizations within Somalia that is leading to water contamination and desertification. The lack of roads leading to agressive offroad driving is just the beginning. Forced to dig their own wells in the search for water, many nomads are destroying the few non-arid areas of Somalia. | SEPADO | |||||||||||||||||
| Introduced species | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||
| Legislation addressing these issues | None Currently. | SEPADO | |||||||||||||||||
| Restoration and Reintroduction | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Programs for restoration of damaged habitat | SEPADO--Somali Environmental Protection and Anti-Desertification Program | SEPADO | |||||||||||||||||
| Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species | None on the national level, but SEPADO would like to begin a campaign to raise awareness in Somali minds about wildlife in general, having successfully stopped the damaging charcoal trade in Eastern Somalia through combined efforts. | SEPADO | |||||||||||||||||
Return to Endangered Species Protection around the World
Page compiled by (Stacy E. Korn) as part of a class project in h90 "The Science of Biodiversity and Conservation" (Peter J. Bryant, Instructor), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA