SOMALIA Somalia is a failed state and little is known about the current condition of its forests, which cover only a tiny portion of the country. U.N. data suggest that Somalia loses about 1 percent of its forests each year, mostly due to subsistence activities like fuelwood collection, agriculture, and use for building materials.

A recent story from Reuters ("Uphill struggle to preserve Somalia's wildlife," 11 Jan 2006 by Ed Stoddard) gave some insight into Somalia's environmental status. According to the article, Somalia had 40,000 elephants in 1980 but these are almost all gone today. There may be 500-750 lions in the country.

At last count by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre of the United Nations Environment Programme, there were 642 species of birds listed for Somalia, 222 mammals, 182 reptiles, 32 amphibians, and 3,028 species of plants.

Desertification is a problem in Somalia.

Suggested reading - Books

• Learning from Somalia
• Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda
• Somalia—The Untold Story : The War Through the Eyes of Somali Women

Image copyright Google Earth, MDA EarthSet, DigitalGlobe 2005

Somalia CIA-World Factbook Profile
FAO-Forestry Profile
World Resources Institute


Last updated: 4 Feb 2006