Protecting our
planet’s
natural
resources _

The mandate of BES mainly focuses on environmental protection related issues.

Horn of Africa is known for its pastoralist communities and relatively harsh climate. Pastoralist communities have suffered from a lack of social stability due to a lack of suitable local planning and governance. The prolonged conflicts because of the collapse of the Somali central government in 1991 further enflamed the situation. Climate change effects in the form of recycling droughts and floods have been occurring, weakening the traditional capacity of pastoral systems to cope with the environmental stress intrinsic to these regions. Environmental degradation and loss of livelihood, often led to famine, further worsened the situation. Many local refugees depended on wildlife for nutrition, cutting trees for building new shelters, and selling them as wood or charcoal. All these natural and human-made calamities have degraded the environment and natural resources (https://www.unep.org/news-andstories/story/how-somalias-charcoal-trade-fuelling-acacias-demise).

Lack of financial means and local capacity to collect the waste and build sewerages have turned urban centers into difficult places to live. Many locals and policymakers are worrying about the aforementioned problems and particularly the operational areas of our organization, the BES. In general, saving the remaining environment, if any, and restoring its natural beauty is an issue that BES is seeking. BES feels this question is complex and requires the solidarity of collective actors with different perspectives and opinions on dealing with the environmental issue in Somalia in general, particularly the operational areas.