Somalia: FAO Launches National Tree Planting Campaign

By NewsfromAfrica

HARGEISA--- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a national tree-planting campaign in Somalia in a bid to restore the country’s fast-disappearing forest cover. The “Plant-A-Tree” campaign, which started in Hargeisa, Somaliland--coinciding with the World Environment Day celebrations on June 5--saw hundreds of trees planted by dozens of volunteers, civil servants and members of the general public.

Luca Alinovi, the head of FAO in Somalia, said the country’s food security future largely depends on the environment, calling for more investment in reforestation and sustainable agriculture stressing the organization's environmental mandate.

“FAO is entrusted to find ways of ensuring that all people have enough to eat and organizations has a unique overview of the impact of agriculture on Somalia’s environment, we should all be working towards this goal,” said Alinovi. 

The UN agency continues to implement a multiplicity of food security focused initiatives across Somalia and hopes to expand the tree-planting campaign throughout the country over the coming months. The continuing growth of the world’s population and the steady rise in disposable income puts increasing stress on the earth’s natural resources. With decades of conflict, especially in the south, and prolonged dry spells, Somalia’s environment is bearing the worst brunt.

Dr. Mahmoud Sad, Somaliland’s minister of environment and rural development, called for the end of what he described as rampant degradation of Somalia's environment. 

“At this rate, the country will be a desolate desert,” said Sead adding: “If we do not stop this devastating assault on the environment, as consequences temperatures will raise, our rangeland will become barren and all our livestock will cease to exist.”

The greatest challenge the world faces is finding ways to meet the food needs of the extra 2 billion people expected by 2030, while preserving the natural resource base to provide for future generations. FAO has both expertise and experience for meeting this challenge.