A meeting to discuss deforestation and environmental conservation has been held in Kismayo today, the Jubbaland state of Somalia.
The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of the Jubbaland state and was attended by ministers, parliamentarians, traditional elders and other government officials.
The meeting was aimed at creating awareness on environmental conservation and stopping deforestation and trade in wood, which is often used to make charcoal in Kismayo, thus adversely affecting the environment.
Kismayo District Commissioner Ibrahim Yusuf Mohamed Timajilic underscored the need for massive campaign aimed at preventing deforestation as well as creating more awareness aimed at saving the environment.
The Jubbaland Minister for Environment and Tourism, Aidid Suleiman Haanshi, said that the meeting was held after a call from local elders decried of deforestation in the town of Kismayo.
“The ministry is working with the business community to ensure the environment is well guarded and protected. This meeting was necessitated by overwhelming complaints of deforestation from the locals which is quite saddening, ” Said Aidid Suleiman Haanshi.
The meeting comes against a backdrop of increased deforestation and massive tree cutting in Kismayo which is also eliminating wild species that depend on the forest cover.
BY OSMAN HUSSEIN ALI
