Somalia will today host a two-day conference on the fighting against the illegal charcoal trade in the Horn of Africa nation.
The conference that will continue for two days 7-8th May will bring together Somali environment experts and international donor partners, it will discuss ways of stopping the illegal trade, unsustainable production and use of charcoal in the country, said the UN Mission in Somalia.
“The Somali government-led event, therefore, aims to urgently build alliances amongst consumer countries and international and local experts and donors,” the UN mission said last week.
The conference is supported by the UN Development Program (UNDP), UN Environment and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Export of charcoal from Somalia has been banned by a 2012 United Nations Security Council resolution but not yet implemented by the Somali government.
According to the UN, 8.2 million trees were cut down for charcoal in Somalia between 2011 and 2017, increasing land degradation and food insecurity, and illegal trade in charcoal acts as a major source of funding for militias and terrorist groups such as al-Shabab.
A UN monitors’ report released late 2017 said Somali insurgents earn approximately 10 million U.S. dollar annually from charcoal smuggled to Asia through Somali ports.
The UN report said that this enables Al-Shabab to finance its operations and undermines counter-terrorism operations in the Horn of African nation.
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