Abstract:The international community has long recognized desertification as a significant global social, economic and environmental problem of concern with detrimental effects on the livelihoods of people in many countries world-wide. To explore this critique, this study examined local people's views on the causes, effect and socio-economic impact of desertification and degradation to the community. The study involved a cross-sectional survey conducted with four community categories, namely nomadic pastoralist, agro-pastoralists, villagers and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), from Addado, Buhodle and northern Galkaayo of central and northern part of Somalia; through questionnaire-based interviews. Descriptive statistics attribute environmental changes to negative implications of human activities on the environment: the menace of which led to a decline in forage, current loss of biodiversity and the related changes in the environment, permanent migration, increased poverty and health problems. The startling results of this study conclusively demonstrate that the challenges involve proper interventions for tree planting against desertification as well as for community empowerment through public education and formation of community based environmental associations to coordinate the overall environmental management activities and to raise public awareness.
The dryland vegetation and particularly the Acacia-Commiphora woodlands support the livelihoods of approximately 52 million rural households in the Horn of Africa. Aromatic resins are valuable non-wood forest products (NWFPs) derived from Boswellia and Commiphora species in the drylands of this region. The study seeks to answer the following main questions: “What are the ecological and livelihood roles of resin producing species, and the role that people have in either degrading or restoring these ecosystems?” “Who are the participants in frankincense and myrrh production, processing, and trade, and how do these people interact?” “What is the current and potential future economic impact of frankincense and myrrh production and trade at the household level?” “What are the barriers to enhanced economic outcomes?” The study involves the use of PRISMA method—a systematic methodology to identify, select and analyze the recent literature on aromatic resins in relation to such factors as socio-economic situation, livelihood security, value chain, climate change adaptation, ecology and sustainable development in the Horn of Africa. Systematic identification of publications was conducted using several sources, including but not limited to electronic databases for literature search. Web of Science, Social Science Citation Index and Google Scholar and various scientific journals were investigated using search terms and restrictions. A total of 991 references were retrieved, but literature only published between 2003 to 2017 was selected, which led to the use of 51 works for full-text assessment. The results indicate that of the 51 selected studies, 45% focused on ecology and sustainable management, 31% on economic contribution and livelihood security, 20% on production and value chain development, and 4% on climate change adaptation and mitigation. It could be concluded that farmers’ adoption of Boswellia and Commiphora species as economic tree crops in the Horn of Africa has a distinct role in biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation by contributing to the sustainability of ecosystem functioning as well as improving household incomes and the rural livelihood security in general, and thereby facilitating poverty alleviation.
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