Climate change a new challenge for Somalia

A commentator once called climate change a “chaos multiplier” for the way it worsens tensions and deepens conflict in fragile states like Somalia.

Somalia may be one of the world’s poorest and most violence-stricken nations, but its chief climate official believes the country is still “fixable.” Despite over 30 years of intertwined conflicts, including civil war, clan disputes, and an Islamist insurgency, Abdihakim Ainte, the Somali prime minister’s climate advisor, sees Somalia as a “story of potential and promise.”

This optimism is notable given that climate change exacerbates nearly all of Somalia’s existing challenges. The country, however, bears little responsibility for global emissions; Somalia’s total carbon output since the 1950s is equivalent to just three days of the U.S. economy’s emissions.

The impact of climate change is most visible in Somalia’s agricultural sector. About two-thirds of the population depend on farming and livestock herding for their livelihoods. The 2022 drought, the worst in 40 years, was made 100 times more likely by human-driven climate change, according to scientists.

Traveling through Somalia’s arid landscape with armed guards—a standard procedure for Red Cross staff due to the country’s instability—the challenges faced by local farmers and herders became evident. These communities, who have relied on moving livestock like camels and goats across the land for generations, are now struggling as erratic rainfall patterns make this way of life increasingly unsustainable.

Sheik Don Ismail, a herder, shared how the drought killed all his camels when grazing land dried up and the crops on his small farm couldn’t feed them. “The well dried up, and without pasture, the animals began to die,” he explained. Desperation has led to conflict over water and land, with Sheik Don sometimes having to protect his property at gunpoint. “Without a weapon, there is no respect,” he said, noting that herders back off when they see his gun.

The story of Somalia’s struggle with climate change is one of survival, where agriculture and herding are increasingly at risk, and the fight for resources can mean life or death.