UN agencies, developer explore Somalia reforestation options

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – UN agencies are partnering with an African project developer to explore options for what would be the first reforestation carbon offset project in Somalia.

UNEP Africa and IOM Somalia are working with Iroko Analytics, which has been commissioned to carry out a feasibility study and would be the project developer.

Iroko Analytics co-founder and chief executive Jules Caron told Quantum that the company is already talking to people "on the ground" in Somalia, including civil society and educational organisations and the private sector, about the project.

"We already have a small menu of potential sites that could be selected," he said.

The study is expected to be completed later this year after which 'phase two' will get underway, which would involve drafting contracts with local communities and planting partners and talking with carbon standards, he added.

"That should take about six months … (followed by) building the nursery and getting the seedlings to grow and actually planting trees," Caron said.

If all goes to plan, this process could have started by summer next year, he added.

A methodology to develop the project has yet to be chosen, with several currently under consideration.

"What interested the UN is that the figures of deforestation in Somalia is actually quite shocking and it has been going on for half a century," Caron said.

Somalia lost 4,410 hectares of tree cover from 2001 to 2022, equivalent to a 5.1% decrease in tree cover since 2000 and emissions of 962,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to NGO Global Forest Watch.

"This has had very severe consequences not only on the ecology, but also on livelihoods, security, increased the risk of floods so they wanted to see is there scope of fixing a lot of problems with one 'metaphorical' stone. Could you improve livelihoods, could you improve climate resilience, could you improve revenues through offset mechanisms," he added.

The company is also having conversations with the Somali government about the project, however, currently there are not plans for the project to be considered under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

"If that is an option for them (the Somali government), then it is something we will study, but for us currently it is not something we envisage," said Caron.

Reforestation is not the only focus of Iroko Analytics, with the company also working on developing mangrove projects in Africa.

It has a site confirmed in Cameroon and is talking to local authorities and potential partners with the hope of starting feasibility work after the summer holidays, said Caron, who spoke to Quantum from Kenya, where the company is also planning a mangrove project.

Earlier this week, Kenya-based cookstoves manufacturer and project developer Burn said in a consultation document, released as part of plans to broaden its cookstoves carbon programme in Somalia, that a newly-formed government ministry in Somalia responsible for climate change and environment has made the East African country increasingly engaged in attracting more carbon projects.