HARGEISA, 8 March 2011 (IRIN) - Record charcoal prices in Somalia's
self-declared independent region of Somaliland are threatening the
livelihoods of many poor urban families who have limited alternative
energy sources.
"Charcoal prices in Somaliland have increased in the past six months
from 25,000 [Somaliland] shillings [US$5.50] per 25kg sack to 40,000
shillings [$7.50], making it difficult to us to buy charcoal, which we
depend on to cook food for our families," Muna Ahmed, an internally
displaced mother of nine, told IRIN. "We are now suffering; we do not
know what to cook with."
The average urban household uses two to three bags of charcoal per
month. In 2005, this monthly expenditure was about $10.
Abdi-Risak Bashir Libah, an environmental director at Candlelight for
Health, Education and Environment, an NGO [
http://candlelightsomal.org/ ] , said: "Because of the increasing
urban population in Somaliland and the high demand for charcoal, its
prices will increase even more. The problem will continue, unless
alternatives are found."
Some 95 percent of Somaliland's 1.6m urban residents - about half the
total population - use charcoal as their main source of cooking
energy. This amounts to an annual consumption of some two million bags
and up to 2.5 million trees, according to a 2007 report by the Academy
for Peace and Development (APD) [
http://www.apd-somaliland.org/docs/apd2006rbc.pdf ].
The consequent deforestation reduces rainfall, soil depth and grass
cover in Somaliland, where up to 65 percent of the population are
pastoralists. As the viability of this livelihood diminishes, many
pastoralists have turned to charcoal production to make ends meet,
further accelerating the deforestation.
Alternatives
In an effort to slow down this vicious cycle, the government has
imposed load limits on charcoal trucks, and is working on longer-term
solutions, according to Abdikarim Aden Omar, director of the
Environment Department in Somaliland's Ministry of Livestock,
Environment and Pastoralist Development.
"We know that prices of woodland charcoal have increased, even though
it is the only energy for cooking in Somaliland; but as a ministry, we
can't do anything in the short term. Our plan is to put in place a
long-term strategy, which includes searching for investments in coal
[of which Somaliland has considerable unexploited deposits], solar,
and gas energy sources," Omar said.
In 2005, a presidential task force was set up to look into
alternatives to charcoal, but political upheavals in the country
interfered. "After we discussed the issue, we agreed to send some
people to India to get more experience, because India uses cattle
waste as cooking energy," Somaliland's former vice-president, Ahmed
Yusuf Yasin, told IRIN. "But before we did that, the new government
came in [after parliamentary elections in September 2005]."
Libah says Candlelight has also been exploring alternatives to
charcoal. "We have urged the government to decrease taxes on gas and
kerosene stoves as well as on natural gas," he said. The organization
also promotes more fuel-efficient stoves and the use of mesquite, an
invasive plant that has been expanding in Somaliland over the past 20
years.
While using kerosene to cook would cost the average household some
$14.30 a month, only about 5 percent of the population uses this fuel
because it is not well known and supplies have been unreliable in the
past.
Liquefied petroleum gas is another option, but one 11kg cylinder
requires a $45 deposit, with each refill costing around $20 and
lasting the average household about 20 days. Another deterrent is the
widespread belief that the cylinders tend to explode.
Electrical energy is also beyond the reach of most households, with
each kilowatt/hour costing about $1, one of the highest rates in the
world.
However, for major shifts to take effect and for the high charcoal
prices to push people toward alternatives, solutions cannot come from
communities and the business sector alone, according to Candlelight
executive director, Ahmad Ibrahim Awale.
"Viable solutions can work but they lack necessary support, promotion
and social marketing from development agencies," he said.
"The link between deforestation and recurring droughts should also be
clearly highlighted. A political will and commitment from the
government to support the process through enactment of conducive
polices, tax exemption from all alternative energies, will also play a
pivotal role facilitating such shift."
Mohamed Hashi Elmi, Somaliland's Minister of Finance, says such steps
are being taken.
"Somaliland government is encouraging everything to stop charcoal use
and environmental degradation in the country. We have already made 100
percent tax cuts on imported LPG equipment and we will do the same for
gas stove importers," he said.
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