Climate Adaptation in Somalia
Climate Variability and Vulnerability in Somalia and Similar Settings
Climate adaptation needs and challenges
In developing countries, there is an increasing need to resolve climate related risks that are currently happening and emerging risks (World Economic Forum., 2014). Tackling these challenges requires adaptation1 action, many of which represent directional change in socio-ecological systems. However, despite planning for climate change adaptation strategies being regarded as a vital element of climate policy in many countries, the practical execution of adaptation actions is in its initial stages [Forster, P.M.; Paavola, J., 2017]. For sub-Sharan African countries in particular despite the increasing efforts, there is a need for concerted knowledge-based, structural and all rounded framework for tackling climate adaptation challenges (GEF, 2015). Somalia also falls in line, with inadequate adapation policies or weak enforcement etc.
1.2. Sector-based climate adaptation needs and challenges
The livestock sector: Sub-Saharan arid and semi-arid countries like Somalia have livestock as the most
important source of income for rural populations (Kaufmann et al. 2019)2 In recent decades, however,
traditional pastoral strategies in sub-Saharan Africa have been severely affected by globalvenvironmental changes (Linstädter et al. 2016). These changes have had tremendous effects on
pastoral livelihoods (Martin et al. 2014) and on pastoralists’ resilience strategies (Kaufmann et al. 2019).
Specific to the Horn of Africa, the pastoral and agro-pastoral production systems in Ethiopia-which has
cultural, ecological and geographic similarities with Somalia- is getting more vulnerable to climate
change and less able to support the basic needs of people living in the area, due to substantive changes
to the socio-economic, and ecological environment over the past two to three decades. It should be
noted that the climatic conditions and hardships that characterize pastoralism are shared across
countries and continents, the people inhabiting these areas differ in their socio-cultural traditions,
herd compositions, coping strategies and in the degree of their integration into the market economy
(World Bank, 2003). What is more, pastoralism in Somalia-tends to bear the triple challenges of
conflicts, being affected by frequent droughts that impact on natural resources (water and grazing
land) and lack of innovation (Belay, et al, 2005).
The agriculture sector: Somalia’s agriculture sector, a top contributor to GDP and the country’s export
earnings remains the backbone of the Somali economy (World Bank and FAO 2018). However, the
growth of robust agriculture sector is hindered by climate change, where Somalia is ranked as one of
the top countries in the world for global vulnerability to climate change (Tracy 2017). Droughts
undermine crop production by reducing the cultivated land area leading to harvest failures.
Enterprise firms:
While the primary causalities of climatic risks are believed to be nature-based sectors,
there is an increased acceptance of the fact that the manufacturing and services sectors need to be
able to a read and respond to climate signals to be commercially successful. Indeed, firms are
beginning to recognized effective climate risk management as a source of competitive strength
(Surminski 2013). However, in many instances, adaptation still lacks the salience to attract senior
management attention (Berkhout 2012). Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that form a critical
part of developing country economies, are also considered highly vulnerable to climate change, to be
among the most affected by extreme weather events and to typically have low adaptive capacity
(Crick, Gannon, et al., 2018). Indeed, this high exposure to climate risk is often coupled with lack of
development, including poor infrastructure, poor access to markets, and high levels of poverty (De
Souza et al., 2015; Tucker et al., 2015; Jobbins et al., 2016; Gannon et al., 2018), which makes adaptation
in these sectors even more challenging.
Adaptation Needs and Tools in Somalia
Several studies have documented that the economic impacts of climate change can be significantly
reduced through adaptation practices (Kurukulasuriya and Mendelsohn, 2006; Mano and
Nhemachena, 2006). The sub-sections below discuss the adaptation strategies taken up by households and communities, streamlined by sector. Based on the Somali setting, we take into consideration the following adaptation decisions in our analysis.
2.1. Agriculture-focused adaptation
Adaptation actions in the agricultural sector understandably include land, water and input-related.
One of the most prominent of these is land and soil based adaptation: This strategy has been credited as a pivotal instrument of climate change adaptation, particularly in Africa (Di Falco and Veronsi 2014; Teklewold et al. 2015; Deressa et al. 2009; Difalco and Bulte 2011; Kato et al. 2009).
Season shifting and crop altering adaptation: This includes changing harvesting or planting times,
shifting planting of crops in a different/more suitable location and introducing new crop varieties that have not been grown before, adopting early maturing varieties to escape drought, sequential timing of cropping, and adopting drought tolerant varieties. Diversification into new kind of crops is knownto reduce the risk of crop loss associated with climatic variability (Di Falco et al. 2010; Di Falco and Chavas2009). Equally important are particular seed varieties that are naturally/developed with drought tolerance features in mind that play effective role in buffering against drought (e.g., Bezu etal. 2014).
2.2. Water-focused adaptation
Such adaptation includes conserving and protecting water resources during the dry season,
rehabilitation of natural water points; using earth dams; and using rainwater harvesting techniques
(dams, furrows). The reduction in water availability as a result of climate change (both in terms of
quantity and reliability) increases the need for an efficient water management system for agriculture
particularly in Africa (Vörösmarty et al. 2010). Hassan and Nhemachena (2012) identify irrigation as a critical tool for helping African farmers adapt to climate change. Moreover, farmers are food to choose to irrigate to supplement rain water and to compensate for loss of water associated with increased evapo-transpiration due to increased temperature (Deressa et al., 2009). Investments in irrigation conditional on access to water were ranked at the top among priority adaptations in Kenyan studies
(Bryan et al., 2011)