Mogadishu, 7 May 2018 –\u00a0<\/strong>At the opening of a two-day, UN-supported conference on charcoal in\u00a0Mogadishu, the Federal Government of Somalia has called for international, African and Gulf\u00a0States cooperation in halting the illegal export of charcoal from the country. The export of\u00a0charcoal from Somalia has been banned, both by a 2012 United Nations Security Council\u00a0resolution and by the Somali Government, due to its destructive effect on the environment and its\u00a0exacerbation of conflict and humanitarian crises.<\/p>\n An estimated 8.2 million trees were cut down for charcoal in Somalia between 2011 and 2017,\u00a0increasing land degradation, food insecurity and vulnerability to flooding and drought. Over 80\u00a0percent of charcoal produced in Somalia is exported to Gulf States and neighbouring countries.\u00a0Illegal trade in charcoal is recognised as a key contributor to insecurity in Somalia, providing a\u00a0major source of funding for militias, terrorist groups, and other actors linked to conflict, who\u00a0illegally tax exports.<\/p>\n In his opening address, the Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia, Mahdi Mohamed Guled, reaffirmed\u00a0the Somali government\u2019s commitment to halting illegal trade of charcoal, and providing\u00a0alternative livelihood and energy options. He also called for urgent action and support from the\u00a0international community and countries that are importing charcoal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a holistic response to address the issues of charcoal in Somalia. Both the demand and\u00a0supply side have to be tackled \u2013 to do this we need cooperation to implement the UN Security\u00a0Council Resolution and ensure the environmental, economic and human losses that happen\u00a0because of illegal charcoal trade are curbed,\u201d said the Deputy Prime Minister.<\/p>\n \u201cThe environmental destruction brought on by the charcoal trade contributes to drought,\u00a0flooding, the loss of livelihoods and increase in food insecurity. Together with conflict, this\u00a0exacerbates the humanitarian situation in Somalia,\u201d said the Deputy Special Representative of the\u00a0Secretary-General for Somalia, Peter de Clercq. \u201cBut due to high levels of poverty in Somalia and\u00a0lack of opportunities, many are forced to turn to unsustainable and illegal livelihoods, such as\u00a0charcoal production. The people of this country deserve better\u201d.<\/p>\n Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, UN Environment Regional Director for Africa, said regional partnership\u00a0is key to stopping the unsustainable production, use and export of charcoal in Somalia. \u201cUN\u00a0Environment and its partners are supporting the Government of Somalia to develop sound policy\u00a0frameworks to support the ban and find alternatives to charcoal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Participants at the event, which concludes on Tuesday 8 May, are expected to develop a concrete\u00a0road map for action, including enforceable regional policies, to halt charcoal trade, as well as its\u00a0unsustainable production and use within Somalia. The high-level summit is supported by the\u00a0United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment, and the Food and Agricultural\u00a0Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), with funding from Sweden, the European Union and\u00a0Italy.<\/p>\n NOTES TO EDITORS<\/strong><\/p>\n About UN Environment:<\/strong><\/p>\n UN Environment is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments, the private sector, the civil society and with other UN entities and international organisations across the world.<\/p>\n For more information, please contact:<\/strong> Abdul Qadir,\u00a0<\/strong>Manager, Climate Change and Resilience Portfolio, a.i., United Nations Development\u00a0Programme Somalia. Email: abdul.qadir[at]undp.org<\/p>\n Keelin FitzGerald,\u00a0<\/strong>Communications Specialist, United Nations Development Programme Somalia.\u00a0Email: keelin.fitzgerald[at]undp.org<\/p>\n Mohamed Atani,\u00a0<\/strong>Regional Information Officer, Africa Office, UN Environment. Email:\u00a0mohamed.atani[at]un.org<\/p>\n Chi Lael,\u00a0<\/strong>Communications Specialist, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nation.Email: Chi.Lael[at]fao.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Somalia calls for international cooperation to stop illegal charcoal trade Mogadishu, 7 May 2018 –\u00a0At the opening of a two-day, UN-supported conference on charcoal in\u00a0Mogadishu, the Federal Government of Somalia has called for international, African and Gulf\u00a0States cooperation in halting the illegal export of charcoal from the country. The export of\u00a0charcoal from Somalia has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2354,"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2352\/revisions\/2354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proscal.gov.so\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAbdulkani R Barrow ,\u00a0<\/strong>Advisor to the Ministry of Livestock, Forestry and Range and the Office of\u00a0the Prime Minister. Email: abdulkanirage[at]gmail.com<\/p>\n