The pastoralist communities in Himan and Heb administration in central Somalia are complaining over the increasing urbanization of rural areas which is destroying the pasture for livestock. “The urbanization is leading to environmental problems by depleting the pastureland that is available for the livestock,” Abdullahi Mohamed Shidane, a pastoralist, told Radio Ergo’s local reporter.
The pastoralists have already suffered from massive deforestation caused by charcoal burning which has cleared grazing lands over the past two decades. Galgadud and Mudug regions are populated largely by pastoralists, who keep livestock dependent on the pasture and water available.
“Every forest we take our livestock to get pasture, there are people claiming they own it. That was never the case. Our livestock used to be able to go to any forest and eat from it before,” said Shidane, from Qoryo-adde village, near Adado district in Galgadud.
New villages and towns have been developed across Somalia without planning or restriction over the past two decades of anarchy. Migration of people to urban areas from rural parts in search of a better life has increased. This has led to overcrowding and congestion in towns and the further destruction of larger areas of forest and pasture land to accommodate them, said Radio Ergo reporter Mohamud Dirshe in Adado.
The urbanization has also led to land grabbing and conflict between the communities over the ownership of land, according to Sheikh Mohamed Guled, the secretary of Himan and Heb administration’s magistrates court. “Cases relating to conflict over the ownership of land are increasingly being referred to the court,” Guled said.
However, Himan and Heb’s minister for Livestock and Natural Resources Elmi Kulane Ali said the Adado-based administration is developing a new law to safeguard and protect the grasslands and the environment.
MD/MR
