Saturday September 20, 2025
by Liban Obsiye
"To get ahead of the crisis, Somalia’s government is taking notable strides, not only through force against international terrorists, but through reconciliation, awareness and broad-based intercommunal dialogue." (Illustration by Erhan Yalvaç)
Somalia stands on the front lines of a growing, multilayered climate crisis. With each passing season, droughts stretch longer, floods grow fiercer and the land becomes increasingly degraded by advancing desertification. Climate change and environmental challenges are not abstract threats here: they are lived realities, stripping bare an already fragile landscape. A recent analysis by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) confirms what Somalis have known for years: this country faces extreme environmental fragility and is among the world’s most vulnerable to climate-induced displacement.
Climate change in Somalia does not unfold in isolation. It is entangled with conflict as extremist groups like al-Shabab exploit climate vulnerability, using scarcity, instability and suffering to entrench control. In riverine districts, entire villages along major rivers were recently submerged by unprecedented floods, displacing thousands already recovering from violent clashes. Drought-driven disputes over pasture and water have become recruitment grounds for violent actors. The number of internally displaced people now exceeds 3.8 million. Urban centers are bursting at the seams, struggling to absorb those fleeing hunger, insecurity and environmental collapse. Climate-related displacement and mobility reduce productivity, fuel insecurity and embed dependency.
The Somali government continues its determined campaign against al-Shabab, one of al-Qaida’s most violent affiliates. While terrorism is not caused by climate change, it thrives in its wake, undermining the ability of communities and institutions to cope with recurrent shocks. These groups feed off intercommunal tension, control scarce resources and offer disillusioned youth violent false promises when livelihoods dry up. This toxic combination has devastated rural resilience and left families with impossible choices.
In the past three years, Somali-led forces, alongside community forces, have liberated over 80 towns and villages. But this has also revealed environmental devastation: scorched earth, poisoned wells and destroyed farmland. This is a legacy of environmental violence. In many pastoral zones, areas once abundant with seasonal grazing now lie bare, degraded by years of neglect and strategic sabotage. Rural-to-urban migration and unregulated growth are also driven by reduced grazing areas and the diminished productivity of rangelands. Many once hard-working and proud farmers and herders are homeless in cities today. Environmental healing and ecosystem restoration must be part of recovery, integrated with stabilization and peacebuilding efforts.
Any serious effort to build climate resilience must center on those who bear the brunt of its impact: rural communities, women and youth. Women, across rural and peri-urban areas, carry the weight of climate devastation while nurturing families, managing scarce resources and maintaining fragile peace across clan lines. Their leadership is often overlooked but is nothing short of heroic. Somalia’s youth, the majority of its population, are navigating a world of limited opportunities, drought and insecurity with dwindling hope. The Somali government and its international partners must urgently forge pathways that bridge education, skills and livelihoods to a greener and more peaceful future.
Hope alone cannot rebuild nations. Somalia’s climate agenda must be fully aligned with its economic vision, captured in Vision 2060 and the National Transformation Plan (NTP) 2025-2029. Quick fixes and emergency aid will not resolve structural fragilities and vulnerability traps. In 2023, over half of all Official Development Assistance went to humanitarian relief. While this is important, it is not the most prudent use of resources. The time for urgent and long-term investment is now. We must act before another drought, another flood and another round of displacement push more vulnerable communities past the breaking point.
To get ahead of the crisis, Somalia’s government is taking notable strides, not only through force against international terrorists, but through reconciliation, awareness and broad-based intercommunal dialogue. In one area where years of conflict had torn apart families and communities, traditional elders and women’s groups forged a lasting peace, demonstrating how even drought-driven violence can be transformed into coexistence. Still, dialogue is not enough. Words must be matched with opportunities. Expanded livelihoods and targeted climate adaptation are essential companions to peace efforts.
Yet, despite the enormous need, the global climate finance system is an uneven playing field. Its complexity shuts out those who need it most: countries on the climate front lines and communities most exposed to extreme climate events and shocks. Post-conflict and fragile states, such as Somalia, which have emerging institutions, are often sidelined. Between “climate” and “finance,” it is the latter that holds the key. Too often, that key is out of reach. Countries on the climate front lines need financing that is faster, fairer, and fit for purpose, capable of supporting both short-term recovery and long-term resilience.
The injustice is stark. The more fragile a country, the less climate-related development finance it receives. In 2021–22, only 5.3% of such finance from OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members reached countries with extreme fragility. Overall, 25.6% went to countries experiencing high fragility. Even among developing nations, those fortunate enough to secure funding often struggle with unsustainable debt. Servicing these debts diverts resources from the very systems, education, health and infrastructure that are vital to a Just and inclusive transition.
The Somali government is accelerating efforts to access climate financing from all available sources, including the major vertical funds. A new climate finance architecture, anchored on the National Climate Fund within the Ministry of Finance, is reshaping how the country plans and manages climate resources. The NTP directs efforts to identify, allocate, and monitor funding that tackles the roots of conflict by investing in climate-smart agriculture, water management, fisheries, and pastoral supply chains. Somalia’s climate resilience strategy is not just to survive, but to rebuild better and sustainably. It aims to reconnect rural areas to urban markets, strengthen food security, create green jobs, develop resilient supply chains, and protect biodiversity. Somalia’s long-term stability hinges on safeguarding and restoring its natural capital.
In a country where every drop of rain, or its absence, can mean the difference between life and death, building climate resilience is more than an environmental necessity. It is a strategic act to strengthen peacebuilding and advance economic development. This is how we break cycles of violence, prevent future conflict and secure a hopeful future for the Somali people.
Liban Obsiye is the Head of the Strategic Economic Unit of the Somali Ministry of Finance