Northen Somalia needs to urbanize if we want to avoid famine next time

[Thegoodshepherd]

In a place as dry as Puntland it makes no sense for people to remain livestock keepers since it is no longer sustainable. There are simply too many people on a land that is almost desert.If we want to avoid the type of famine that killed 250,000 in 2011, we have to encourage urbanization. This would make it infinitely easier to provide government services, water and to deliver food aid. The costs of aiding people in places with no roads is astronomical. The government of Puntland should tell all pastoralists to settle in one of the five major towns if they want help of any sort. If you are not registered as a resident of a town, you don't get anything.

All relatively successful dry countries like Somalia are highly urbanized, while Somalia is one of the least urbanized dry countries.

The land cannot support our nomadic ways. I just saw this picture of the severe erosion taking place in my hometown and was shocked. The sheep and goats are literally eating their way into the roots of trees. This is how deserts form. We have to change our economy, pastoralism is only sustainable for maybe a 100K families max in Puntland, the rest must urbanize.

 

[Night]

actually pastoralism is better for your people trust me, in djibouti many of the former normands live in desperate poverty in the slums, seasons come and go, remember the el nino affect has casued these condtions across the world, but for me urbanism is the worst thing that can happen to somalis, all it would do is disillusioned thousands of people

Lets be real somaliland,djibouti,puntland rset of somalia does not have an industrial base to employ somalis, so say we let the majority live peacefully with their pastoralism

 

[Canuck]

In a place as dry as Puntland it makes no sense for people to remain livestock keepers since it is no longer sustainable. There are simply too many people on a land that is almost desert.If we want to avoid the type of famine that killed 250,000 in 2011, we have to encourage urbanization. This would make it infinitely easier to provide government services, water and to deliver food aid. The costs of aiding people in places with no roads is astronomical. The government of Puntland should tell all pastoralists to settle in one of the five major towns if they want help of any sort. If you are not registered as a resident of a town, you don't get anything.

All relatively successful dry countries like Somalia are highly urbanized, while Somalia is one of the least urbanized dry countries.

The land cannot support our nomadic ways. I just saw this picture of the severe erosion taking place in my hometown and was shocked. The sheep and goats are literally eating their way into the roots of trees. This is how deserts form. We have to change our economy, pastoralism is only sustainable for maybe a 100K families max in Puntland, the rest must urbanize.

Scientists have discovered evidence of a vast water reservoir trapped hundreds of miles beneath the surface, capable of filling Earth's oceans three times over

 

[Canuck]

Three-quarters of the Earth's water may be locked deep underground in a layer of rock, All we need to do is investing in water digging method.

 

[Gilgamesh]

This is something I thought of during this drought, our nomadic lifestyle is unsustainable and things are only going to get worse with climate change making rainfall more sporadic . But the problem is what are these people going to do in urban centers where there is no jobs for them to work? Urbanization only comes about as a result of industrialization when factory work becomes more attractive than goat or camel herding so the rural population will willingly move to where the money and the services of a modern town is but forcing them to move now will just increase the slums in the cities and more jobless people who will go on to do tahriib. At least nomadic families can live off of their livestock but what will an illiterate geeljire in town do to support his family?

 

[Apollo]

Puntland should set up Acacia tree nurseries and plant millions of them all over Puntland. These umbrella trees can survive on their own in arid regions.

That should slow down or completely stop desertification.

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

@Night and @Undertaker I fully understand that you first need an industrial base for urbanization to work. That is how most modern countries became urbanized. But Northen Somalia is not the same as France or the UK where someone in the countryside can make a living because the land is so productive. In a place like Jubaland I would not encourage urbanization. But in order to provide services like water, power, health and education it is better to have your population concentrated to take advantage of the economies of scale cities provide. If half of Puntland's population lived in Bosaso you would no longer have terrible hunger because you could easily import food and have almost no transport cost in its distribution.

Djibouti is actually a great example of urbanization in a dry country. Almost everyone lives in Djibouti city which means that it is much easier for the government to provide services. It starts with slums of course, but eventually a few years on they become actual neighborhoods with piped water and electricity lines. Its per capita of $1,800 should actually be a goal.

 

[Bohol]

Majority of Puntlanders already live on the main road the
Bosaso - Garowe-Burtinle and Galkacyo corridor. The
coast is urbanized as well with many medium to small
towns. Western Mudug can support nomadism because it
has lots of acacia trees, but Bari and Nugaal can't they
are very arid.

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

The majority of Puntland's population does no live along the road, Puntland is barely 45% urban You even have a gobol like Nugaal which is majority nomads. Urbanization would really do wonders for Puntland.

 

[Bohol]

Garowe district is actually one of the most urbanized districts in Pland along with Bosaso district, you can count the number
of villages with your hands.

Garowe district

http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe...ASom_Administrative_Map_Nugaal_Garoowe_A3.pdf


Bosaso district

http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe...CHASom_Administrative_Map_Bari_Bossaso_A3.pdf




Now compare that to Ceerigabo district, the place is flooded with villages everywhere

http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe...m_Administrative_Map_Sanaag_Ceerigaabo_A3.pdf





Hargeisa district is the worst, the place is filled to the brink.

http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe...istrative_Map_Wooqoyi-Galbeed_Hargeysa_A3.pdf

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

What that indicates is the rural population, not who is nomadic. Nugaal has some rural population but it is majority nomads who have no villages only deegaans which they roam.

 

[Bohol]

It shows majority of the people who live on that main road are urban rather than rural. Nothing
to worry about as long as they are not setting up villages everywhere which could contribute
to desertification and cutting trees, nomads do more damage than livestock. Recently there
was a $5 million solar project installed in Garowe and environs where everyone will have
access to it, no more cutting the remaining trees for fuel. I am more worried for Somaliland
since all those thousands of villages are contributing to desertification and drought.

 

[Bohol]

Check out Galdogob district, it is very preserved. 1 main city and 6 villages. That
means lots of greenery and space for livestock. Most districts in Puntland are
urbanized which is a good thing.

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

These maps actually show you the exact opposite of urbanized. The fact that there are not many settlements show you how nomadic it is.
You have Nugaal, with a population barely at 400K, with 213K nomads. More than much larger gobols like Togdheer and almost the same amount as Woqoyie Galbeed, which is 3x larger. What I am arguing is that we need to bring those 213K into Garowe and Burtinle where services can then be concentrated rather than trying to reach them in baadiye.

 

[Bohol]

So your telling me 231k nomads roam in the wild of Nugaal without villages or water
points. If you been there you would know you couldn't survive out there in the heat
for one day let alone trekking hundreds of km. The land is huge and it is sparsely
populated with major population based in the major urban centers, that is why
Al shabab was able to sneak in without being detected otherwise those "hundred of
thousands of nomads" would have seen them longtime ago. That is the reality sxb.

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

I'm not telling you, that is from a UNFPA survey from 2015. It seems that you simply don't understand how Puntland is settled.
Puntland has an urban population and a nomadic population and almost no rural population. There are major towns and not many villages making it look less populated.

 

[Bohol]

I know but that doesn't still change the fact it is not logically plausible for Bari
and most of Nugaal environment to support that amount of nomadism. The
only area I can think of is Burtinle that shares borders with Haud which I did
saw lots of camels. Rest of Nugaal is goat country, you don't need to take goats
far from towns to graze it, not to mention eastern/central Nugaal is very dry with
little to no vegetation similar to Bari. I think it is possible that amount of nomadism
is practiced in Burtinle -Haud cross border areas seasonably , but it doesn't apply
to majority of Nugaal. I have been on the main road many times and I have never
seen those hundred of thousands of nomads and that is the greener part of Pland.
I believe my eyes rather than some white man who has never been to the area.
Inflated numbers and reality is different. Eastern Sool is the biggest shock the
entire main road from Tukoraq to the Nugaal border is deserted, I have videos of it.

 

[Inactive]

Nomads are already moving into the cities. Many are abandoning the lifestyle.

We should still have 10% of the people as nomads to maintain Somali culture.