“We are a small world, a global village. What is happening here will happen somewhere else. If we don’t work collectively, if we don’t hold hands, solve our world problems when it comes to climate change, we will be doomed. We won’t be leaving anything for the coming generation.” said Environment Minister Shukri Bandare, worried about the future of Somaliland.
In this new report published by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Belinda Goldsmith explains how climate change acts as a threat multiplier in Somaliland in an original, holistic and comprehensive format.
Somaliland is a former British territory located in the Horn of Africa. It self-proclaimed its independence in 1991 from Somalia and is yet to be recognised by the international community. Somaliland is still recovering from a civil war and climate change is exacerbating a long-running humanitarian crisis.
Over the past 10 years, Somaliland has undergone important droughts that led to unprecedented food and water scarcity. Somaliland is dealing with issues of starvation and unemployment stemming from farmers’ inability to cultivate land and raise livestock, leading them to resettle to urban areas. However, cities are not prepared for the newcomers, putting them under great pressures and leading former pastoralists and young people to turn to new windows of opportunities. This creates a “social and political timebomb” in a region that was already already dealing with issues of extremism. The situation is likely to worsen.
The case of Somaliland is not an isolated one and reflects global trends. The article implies that what is happening in the region is happening elsewhere and it is a global duty to find sustainable solutions for the next generation.
Read the full report and watch the documentary here.
Photocredit: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Claudio Accheri.