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Somalia Dekadal Rainfall Bulletin - Dekad 17 2014
During the 2nd Dekad of June (11th – 20th June 2014), there was a significant reduction of rainfall activities in most parts of the country marking a possible cessation of the season. However, parts of north west recorded light to moderate rains. Below is a brief summary of the rainfall situation by region for this dekad.
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Dekadal Rainfall Update
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Somalia Dekadal Rainfall Bulletin - Dekad 13 2014
During the 13th Dekad (1st – 10th May 2014), moderate to heavy rains were recorded in many parts of the country with the southern parts receiving the highest amounts of rains but with poor spatial and temporal distribution. The dekad also marked a late start of the season for many parts in central and north eastern parts of the country. Below is a brief summary of the rainfall situation by region for this dekad.
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Dekadal Rainfall Update
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Somalia Dekadal Rainfall Bulletin - Dekad 14 2014
During the 14th Dekad (11th – 20th May 2014), moderate to heavy rains were recorded in many parts of the country with the southern parts receiving the highest amounts of rains but with poor spatial and temporal distribution. However,
some places in parts of Bari and Nugaal regions in the north have not received any rains since the beginning of the station. Below is a brief summary of the rainfall situation by region for this dekad.
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Dekadal Rainfall Update
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Flood Watch Bulletin 06-05-2014
The rainfall within the Juba and Shabelle basins over the last week varied greatly both in space and quantity inside Somalia. A few places recorded moderate rains while others received little or no rains.
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Flood watch bulletin
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Flood Watch Bulletin 13-05-2014
There was an increase of rainfall activities in most parts of the Juba and Shabelle river basins inside Somalia. A few places recorded heavy rains on 8th and 9th May 2014 causing localized flooding in the areas. The upper parts of Gedo however did not record any rains.
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Flood watch bulletin
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Flood Watch Bulletin 20-05-2014
There was a slight decrease of rainfall activities in most parts of the Juba and Shabelle river basins inside Somalia. A few places recorded moderate rains while others did not receive any rains during the last one week.
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Flood watch bulletin
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Somalia Dekadal Rainfall Bulletin - Dekad 12 2014
During the 12th Dekad (21st – 30th April 2014), moderate to heavy rains were recorded in the southern parts of the country especially in bay and Bakool regions. Light rains were received in the north western parts of the country. The north eastern and central parts did not receive any significant rainfall during the period. In general the rainfall performance of April rains in the country was below normal with the North East and central parts experiencing extremely depressed rains. Below is a brief summary of the rainfall situation by region for this dekad.
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Dekadal Rainfall Update
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SWALIM Update Issue 5
We are pleased to share Issue 5 of our quarterly newsletter “SWALIM Update” for the period February 2014 - April 2014. The newsletter provides updates on SWALIM water and land information management activities such as: SWALIM Establishes Flash Flood Alert Systems; SWALIM Completes Cultivable Areas Analysis for Somalia; An interview with SWALIM’s partners: The National Environment Research and Disaster preparedness (NERAD)and the Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Agency (HADMA), the disaster management agencies for Somaliland and Puntland; Somali Water Sources Live Map Complete; A feature Article: 12 Years of Sustained Weather Monitoring in Somalia among others. We hope you will enjoy this edition. You feedback will be highly appreciated.
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Newsletter
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Somalia Dekadal Rainfall Bulletin - Dekad11 2014
During the 10th Dekad (11th – 20th April 2014), light rains were received in the north western parts of the country. The north eastern and central parts did not receive any significant rainfall during the period while the south recorded moderate to heavy rain especially in Gedo Region. Figure (1) shows the rain gauge observational network and monthly rainfall distribution for selected stations across the country. Below is a brief summary of the rainfall situation by region for this dekad.
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RSM-03 Detection of charcoal production sites in southern somalia using very high resolution imagery
Following more than 20 years of civil unrest, environmental information for Southern Somalia is scarce while there is clear evidence that the war economy fuelled by the conflict is rapidly depleting the country’s natural resources, especially the woody biomass. Wood charcoal production is one of the most relevant businesses supporting war regimes such as the extreme Islamist group Al Shabaab, which has ruled in Southern Somalia from 2006 to 2012 and is still occupying large areas.
In this study, we first used Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery of early 2011 and early 2013 for developing a semi-automatic mapping method of charcoal production sites as a proxy of tree loss over a 6000 km2 area along the Juba River in Southern Somalia. The user’s accuracy of semi-automatic charcoal production site detection varied between 81.7% for 2011 and 87.3% for 2013, while the producer’s accuracy was 68.2% and 65.5% respectively and, as compared to visual interpretation, reduced significantly the required time. The analysis of the changes between the two dates led to an average tree loss estimation of 3.3%, corresponding to 520,520 trees over the 2 years period. The results help to better understand the dimension and impact of charcoal production in Southern Somalia and are a first step towards the development of a charcoal production monitoring system.
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Technical report
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SWALIM Update Issue 4
We are pleased to share Issue 4 of our quarterly newsletter “SWALIM Update” for the period November 2013 – January 2014. The newsletter provides updates on SWALIM water and land information management activities such as: SWALIM Early Warning Information Saves Lives; Building Resilient Communities through Disaster Risk Reduction and Early Warning; SWALIM Completes Survey of Strategic Emergency Boreholes in Northern Somalia; Fostering Accountability through Cash Based Intervention Remote Monitoring; SWALIM supports Somaliland Ministry of Agriculture to survey agricultural areas among others. We hope you will enjoy this edition. You feedback will be highly appreciated.
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Newsletter
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Range policy
Somalia is situated in northeastern Africa and covers an area of 637 660 km2. It has the longest coastline in Africa, being bordered by the Gulf of Aden to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east. The country is bordered by Kenya in the south, Ethiopia in the west and by Djibouti in the north-west. The country can be divided in five distinct physio-geographic zones differentiated by topography:
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Other
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Mapping Forest Degradation Caused by the Recent Increase of Charcoal Production in Southern Somalia
Following more than 20 years of civil unrest, environmental information for Southern Somalia is scarce while there is clear evidence that the war economy fueled by the conflict is rapidly depleting the country’s natural resources and especially the woody biomass. Wood charcoal production is one of the most relevant businesses supporting war regimes such as the extreme Islamist group Al Shabaab, which has ruled in Southern Somalia from 2006 to 2012 and is still occupying large areas.
In this study we first used Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery of February 2013 for developing a semi-automatic mapping method of charcoal production sites as a proxy of tree loss over a 754 km2 woody area along the Juba river in Southern Somalia. The accuracy of semiautomatic charcoal production site detection varied between 80 and 95% as compared to visual interpretation and reduced significantly the subjectivity and the required time. The analysis was then applied to previous years (2011-2012) for a 52.6 km2 subset of the study area, and led to a tree loss estimation of 8.63%, corresponding to 15,434 trees over the 3 years period. The results are crucial for better understanding the dimension and impact of charcoal production in Southern Somalia and are a first step towards the development of a charcoal production monitoring system.
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Journal Article
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SWALIM
SWALIM Update Issue 3
We are pleased to share Issue 3 of our quarterly newsletter “SWALIM Update”. The newsletter provides updates on SWALIM water and land information management activities such as: Completion of the Preliminary Estimation of Land Cover in Northern Somalia, training on Disaster Risk Reduction and Early Warning, how Geo-spatial Data and Technology ins being used in Natural Resources Management in Somalia, training in River Gauge Reading among others. We hope you will enjoy this edition. Your feedback will be highly appreciated.
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Newsletter
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Mapping Charcoal Driven Forest Degradation during the Main Period of Al-Shabaab Control in Southern Somalia
Following more than 20 years of civil unrest, environmental information for Southern Somalia is scarce while there is clear evidence that the war economy fueled by the conflict is rapidly depleting the country's natural resources and especially the woody biomass. Wood charcoal production is one of the most relevant businesses supporting war regimes such as the extreme Islamist group Al-Shabaab, which has ruled in Southern Somalia from 2006 to 2012 and is still occupying large areas. In this study, we map and quantify the tree loss suffered by the region due to the rapid increase in illegal charcoal production and export over recent years. Very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imagery is used to visually count charcoal production sites as a proxy of tree loss in two sample areas within the lower Juba region of Southern Somalia. The image interpretation allows mapping the charcoal production sites as well as estimating tree loss rates above 7% over 5 years. The results are crucial for understanding the exact dimension and effects of the loss of woody biomass and for planning conservation and recovery interventions in the concerned area.
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Journal Article
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SWALIM Update Issue 2
We are pleased to share Issue 2 of our quarterly newsletter “SWALIM Update” for 2013. The newsletter provides updates on SWALIM water and land information management activities such as: Monitoring and evaluation using remote sensing, the source of the Kismayo charcoal, assessment of the Gu 2013 Rainfall performance, capacity building activities that have taken place in the past 3 months among others. We hope you will enjoy this edition. You feedback will be highly appreciated.
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Newsletter
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SWALIM Update Issue 1
The newsletter provides updates on SWALIM water and land information management activities such as flood and drought early warning systems, hydro meteorological monitoring, status of the Somali water sources, land degradation, remote sensing monitoring, and water and land baseline and thematic studies. You will also be updated on the capacity development activities, particularly the training courses from which you can benefit. The training courses are open to all Somali stakeholders, especially women.
We hope you will enjoy this first edition of 2013 and those that will follow. You feedback will be highly appreciated and will help us improve future editions
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Newsletter
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W-22 Water Demand Assessment for the Juba and Shabelle Rivers
The Juba and Shabelle rivers are the only perennial streams in Somalia. They originate in Ethiopia, where over 90 percent of the stream flow is generated. The two river basins cover an area 174,600 km2 within Somalia. Basic monitoring of the two rivers and their basins has been ongoing in the previous SWALIM projects, laying a good foundation for more developed, continuous river monitoring and data processing (automatic weather stations, continuous discharge measurements, sediment and water quality monitoring together with pilot land degradation monitoring systems). The Juba and Shabelle basins are also called the ‘breadbasket’ of Somalia: It is the centre of agricultural and livestock production and home to the majority of the Somali population.
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Technical report
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Somalia Water and Land Information Management, Nairobi (Kenya)
W-21 Climate CHange Impacts on Water Resources of Somaliland and Puntland
Identifying, assessing and developing groundwater resources is now an urgent priority for emergency relief and long-term development in all countries in the Horn of Africa affected by drought and water scarcity. As a response to this context, UNESCO, in May 2012, launched the initiative “Strengthening Capacity to Combat Drought and Famine in the Horn of Africa: Tapping Groundwater Resources for Emergency Water Supply” through support of the Government of Japan. The overall project aims to map-out drought-resilient groundwater resources in affected areas and strengthen regional capacities in managing groundwater for drought-preparedness. In order to take advantage of the established network and experienced profile of UNESCO’s partner FAO-SWALIM (Somalia Water and Land Information Management) in Somalia, an agreement of this UNESCO-FAO partnership was formalized that governs the framework of the overall project. As part of this project, SWALIM has recently finalized a hydrogeological survey and assessment in selected areas of Somaliland and Puntland which has come up with a wealth of information on potential groundwater resources which supplements SWALIMS previous activities in Somali water and land resources information management.
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Technical report
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Somalia Water and Land Information Management, Nairobi (Kenya)
W-20 Hydrogeological Survey and Assessment of Selected Areas in Somaliland and Puntland - Report No W-20
This report documents an assessment carried out in 2011/2012 to identify potential groundwater aquifers in Somaliland and Puntland. The report gives details of the data collection and analysis including:- desk studies; geological and geophysical field surveys; and remote sensing data analysis, as well as various products generated from the survey / assessment. The products of the hydrogeology survey include among others: hydrogeology and water quality maps of Somaliland and Puntland at a scale of 1:750,000; Hydrogeology maps for 4 selected areas of interest at a scale of 1:250,000; main report of the assessment and 4 appendices giving details of the field work, geophysics, remote sensing and databases. The report is expected to be used by different stake holders in the water sector, mainly the water authorities in Somaliland and Puntland for development and management of groundwater resources in the region
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Technical report
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SWALIM
RSM-02 Estimating Cultivable Areas in Central and Southern Somalia using Remote Sensing
Somalia is largely a hot, arid and semi-arid country with rainfall amounts averaging between 50 and 500 - 600 mm per annum (even though some areas may receive slightly higher amounts).To provide a first estimate of the cultivable land, this study analyzed ASTER satellite images (and where not available, other medium resolution images) for 2010 and 2011 to generate information about cultivation in central and southern Somalia. The results of this study will be the basis for a successive, more accurate analysis which will include sampling approaches and field validation (through FAO emergency staff and FSNAU monitors) in order to establish the potential cultivable land and estimate production for the different cropping systems at farmer and district levels.
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Technical report
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Somalia Water and Land Information Management, Nairobi (Kenya)
L-08 Soil Survey of the Juba and Shabelle Riverine Areas in Southern Somalia
Soil information is a key element for natural resources planning. A key output of this study is a soil map with a scale of 1:100, 000 containing the major soil types as well as soil maps for some of the irrigation projects along the Juba and Shabelle river catchments. Further, the report contains information on soil physical and chemical properties, which are key elements for natural resource management. Soil spatial variability is described for an area of approximately 88,000 km2 in the Juba and Shabelle riverine areas in Southern Somalia. This study is essential for carrying out land suitability and land degradation assessments
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Technical report
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District Administrative - Hargeysa
these are maps that show the general administrative boundaries of Somalia (National, Regional and District administrative boundaries) as well as settlements, towns, rivers, roads and other general geo-information.
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Map
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Assessment of Charcoal Driven Deforestation Rates in a Fragile Rangeland Environment in North Eastern Somalia Using Very High Resolution Imagery
Multi-temporal very high-resolution satellite images and field work have been used for quantifying the tree cutting rate over a 5 years period in a very arid tiger bush area of North Eastern Somalia with intensive charcoal production activities. By applying both a classical area frame sampling approach with visual interpretation of the samples and a semi-automatic tree detection algorithm, it was possible to create baseline tree density layers for the 2 years of observation and to quantify the tree cutting rates for the period from 2001 to 2006. An average annual tree loss of −2.8%, coupled with the total absence of regrowth during the 5 years study period, confirm the tremendous ecological impacts of charcoal driven tree cutting on tiger bush vegetation. Analysis of the results evidences spatial and temporal patterns in the cutting locations and poses the basis for a better understanding of the ecological and human dimensions of deforestation in the fragile rangeland environment of Northern Somalia.
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Journal Article
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A Framework for National Assessment of Land Degradation in the Drylands: A Case Study of Somalia
Land degradation is a gradual, negative environmental process that is accelerated by human activities. Its gradual nature allows degradation to proceed unnoticed, thus reducing the likelihood of appropriate and timely control action. Presently, there are few practical frameworks to help countries design national strategies and policies for its control. The study presented here developed a framework for the national assessment of land degradation. This framework is envisaged to support governments in formulating policies on land degradation. It uses time-series remote sensing data to identify the rate and extent of land degradation, local experts to identify prevalent degradation types and drivers of the degradation and field observations to validate the overall assessment.
Its simplicity, use of freely downloadable input data and self-triangulation of the assessment methods make it suitable for rapid assessment of land degradation on a national scale. It was tested in Somalia, where it exhibited accuracy greater than 60 per cent when assessing land degradation. This framework is relevant for designing national strategies and policies that address land degradation and provides an opportunity for accurate identification of areas to target with comprehensive local assessment. Testing of the framework in Somalia showed that about one-third of the country was degraded because of loss of vegetation cover, topsoil loss and to the decline of soil moisture. Overgrazing, excessive tree cutting and poor agronomic practices in agricultural areas were identified as the primary drivers of the country’s land degradation. These drivers are encouraged by the prevailing communal land tenure practices, poor governance and civil war. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Journal Article
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SWALIM
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