NPGM '06: Resource Based Conflicts
Entry Point Discussion

Mohammed Mohamoud Farah (Hargeisa University)
As illustrated by the presentation of both the film and the report, the environment and its inhabitants are in a dire situation. The welfare of the people is closely linked to the shape of its environment. The purpose of such studies is to identify the problems and to put them into a context. Once you identified the problem and its causations then you have to seek the solutions. So, you are looking for the solution. As they say "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". The purpose is to have a plan. This plan would lead to the formulation of policy and its implementation: i.e. where funds would come from, who are the people that would carry out the tasks, and the will to do it.

Abdi Guray (Forum on Peace and Governance, FOPAG)
In one of the RBC workshops that I facilitated, Kerosene was given the priority as the number one alternative energy to the charcoal usage, due to its availability and its use by the neighbouring countries.
The problem associated in getting or introducing alternative energies to charcoal is "tradition", as shown by the film. Most of the people are saying they are using charcoal because it has been our tradition or our practice. So, it would be very difficult to make people to use alternatives to the charcoal. The situation calls for national mobilisation and anything that is common tends to be uncared for.
What is missing in this study is the lack of land management. Most of the confrontations in the urban areas are related to land disputes. I would propose to include this in the next of phase of this study. Land management either divides the land to us or makes it common property. Right now if we divided the land to the people. There is enough land for everyone. But if we allow people to grab land, they will seize hundreds of square kilometers.

Abdirahman Yussuf Artan (MP, Kulmiye)
We thank the Academy for their presentations. I want to say a couple of things. First, there were several seminars in which the issue of the environment was raised. It seems that there are no follow-ups on these seminars. So I would recommend in future seminars to include mechanisms and instructions on how the relevant agency or ministry would address the problems. About land degradation: When there is land degradation you also have animal degradation. We have a crisis at our hands that warrants immediate intervention. We have to create an agency that immediately addresses this impending disaster and an agency that promotes the use of kerosene stoves. Also I would recommend the establishment of forestry guards who look after the trees and fine those who are cutting the trees illegally.

Suleiman Arab (Poet)
The film presented to us a lot of issues concerning the environment. There are other factors that were missing from the film, including:

• There is a need for a strong environmental administration;
  
• Increasing human and animal population;
  
• Along with the cutting of trees, there is also de-vegetation;
  
• There are too many tyre tracks criss-crossing the rangeland;
  
• Lack of participation;
  
• The refugees from the war, which contribute to today's environmental problems.

Therefore, I recommending the following:

• We should establish a strong environmental administration
  
• We should only produce charcoal sufficient for our local consumption and ban the export of charcoal
  
• We seek alternative sources of energy

Ikraan Haji Dauud (Woman MP, Kulmiye)
We have identified the problems, so we have search for solutions. I believe so far we have failed to produce solutions. I think one solution can be gas, which is being used in Djibouti. There are two kinds of gas, one is used by the economically better-off households, and the low-income households use the other. I strongly believe we can make both kind of gas available to the public, provided we have in place the policies and the mechanism that would allow that. Furthermore, I would recommend initiating massive public awareness campaigns on the impact of the tree-cutting on the environment.

Roda Ahmed Yassin (Woman activist)
These environmental problems were raised in many workshops and meetings. What is missing are government policies and programs to address these issues! It seems that the environment is not a priority for the government. Similarly, it is not a priority for the international agencies working in Somaliland. What I am saying is that the pastoralists and women are very important to our society but nobody wants take care of them.
Probably I am one of the few who came from the coastal areas to this workshop: Our fishing grounds are being over-fished and misused by foreigners. The coastal communities do not have the capacity nor the skills to fish. They also do not receive any help from the government and the local and international NGOs.
The government is also part of the problem. Hundreds of foreign fishing vessels licensed by the government are fishing in our sea. This is done for the benefits of few people, not for the interest of the country. I would prefer to stop the fishing as long as it is being done for the benefits of few individuals.

Unknown male speaker
At least people have proposed solutions and some alternatives to the charcoal problem. But one thing I found very problematic is enclosures, because no one has so far proposed any plausible intervention to address the issue of enclosures. This is a major problem and it is getting more acute in the west of the country. I would recommend that the relevant ministers and agencies should develop a policy that addresses the enclosure issue - policy that demarcates the land.

Unknown male speaker
I would like to mention a couple of problems. One is the introduction of outside species to our environment, which are invading our lands. Some of them do not allow other shrubs to grow next to them.
Secondly, though our native vegetation and trees are more useful to our environment, we do not know how to replenish.

Abdiqadir Jirde (MP, UDUB)
The environmental problems are now major in every country. This has become an issue for the last twenty years though now it has become a mainstream problem. As you know now there are major conferences on how to tackle the problems relating to the environment globally. Thank you, the discussion is closed.

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