Puntland Land Restoration Thread

[Thegoodshepherd]

They enclosed an area that is 70km by 30km in the Dharoor valley, and the results were great.

Puntland could have an environment mor like this if it were to allow for the privatization of grazing land. The tragedy of the commons can only be solved by inserting self interest into the equation. Allowing everyone to graze everywhere has led to erosion and desertification. If I were the gov of Puntland, I would start by privitizing the already eroded land and land that is seen as useless. Self interest and the profit motive would probably bring much of that land back into productivity.

 

[Cotton Eyed Joe]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Land_Act

The Desert Land Act was passed by the United States Congress on March 3, 1877, to encourage and promote the economic development of the arid and semiarid public lands of the Western states. Through the Act, individuals may apply for a desert-land entry to reclaim, irrigate, and cultivate arid and semiarid public lands. This act amended the Homestead Act (1862). Originally the act offered 640 acres (2.6 km2), although currently only 320 acres may be claimed.[1]

A precursor act in 1875, called the Lassen County Act, was pushed by Representative John K. Luttrell of the northeastern district of California, who wanted to speed up privatization of land east of the Sierra. This act enlarged the maximum allowable purchase for settlers from 160 acres to 640 acres. With the backing of Land Commissioner J. A. Williamson, Luttrell and Senator Aaron A. Sargent co-sponsored the Desert act which extended the Lassen County Act to cover several arid states and other regions of California.[2]

Although the Desert Land Act was partly based on the Homestead Act and the Preemption Act (1841), it did not contain a key provision of those acts, namely the residence requirement. While the claimant did need to improve the land, the claimant did not need to live on the land while making the improvements. In the end, this led to a significant amount of fraud, where land speculation companies acquired tens of thousands of acres of California land by hiring "dummy entrymen" to make false claims of settlement.[3]

 

[World]

@Thegoodshepherd

Could you expand more on this?

What will they do to the privatized land after it recovers? Will nomads be permanently banned from using it as grazing land? Who owns the privatized land?

 

[Cotton Eyed Joe]

Could you expand more on this?

What will they do to the privatised land after it recovers? Will nomads be permanently banned from using it as grazing land?

When the land is public nobody cares about it and has the incentive to protect it because it belongs to everyone however it is private the person who owns the land has a financial interest in upkeeping the land and making sure issues like overgrazing dont happen. If a nomad wants to graze on the land he has to pay a fee to the owner. In the US ranchers who graze on public land have to pay taxes but a place such as Puntland can't upkeep the land it's a huge undertaking of such a vast land so it's better to privatize it and let the average joe take care of it.

 

[World]

When the land is public nobody cares about it and has the incentive to protect it because it belongs to everyone however it is private the person who owns the land has a financial interest in upkeeping the land and making sure issues like overgrazing dont happen. If a nomad wants to graze on the land he has to pay a fee to the owner. In the US ranchers who graze on public land have to pay taxes but a place such as Puntland can't upkeep the land it's a huge undertaking of such a vast land so it's better to privatize it and let the average joe take care of it.

How would the clans in the vicinity of this grazing area tolerate so much land being taken and sold to someone who may not even be from from their clan? And I don’t think that many people can afford to buy so much land in Somalia.

 

[DR OSMAN]

Privatising isn't always the best option especially on important matters such as land, hospitals, water, roads, electricity, or anything that people collectively need to share, to put that sort of resource into a sole person hands means they have an unfair advantage over others. Usually the richest person will end up owning it all and other small timers will be out of the picture. For example if you don't pay them $1 million dollar land rent, they wont allow you to build a hospital, school, hotel, etc something the community can benefit from because their bottom line is their priority and since there is no competition in the market or other land owners, there is no fear for them I mean where-else will you go!!!

Infact we see most of the land in the south is owned and manged by individuals and you don't see them taking care of it or even utilizing it for maximum potential most of the charcoal trade occurs there and not only that the land they sit on could feed the country but they wont allow that to happen if you don't pay them some sort of royalty for using the land.

The left argue to privatize 'wants' not 'needs' but the right argue wants and needs are the same thing cuz food is a need yet it's privatized, why can't healthcare, education, or other so called needs be private also. It's a confusing matter really!!! I honestly do believe though private are good 'delivery' side of things, outsource govt contracts to them and let them manage the delivery side. Like collect taxes and rather then let the government do the work, they hire private industry to carry it out. They provide some sort of service guarantee and contracts you can hold them accountible too unlike when you do the work yourself!!!

 

[Cotton Eyed Joe]

How would the clans in the vicinity of this grazing area tolerate so much land being taken and sold to someone who may not even be from from their clan? And I don’t think that many people can afford to buy so much land in Somalia.

They will not buy the land they will be given it for free if provided they utilize and develop the land that's the example I gave in the Desert land act in the US. The majority of Puntland specifically east of the highway is uninhabited as long as you are from the region you will be given the land probably depends on being from the vicinity. There can be stipulations such as developing it for x number of yeears and not selling it for x number of years etc.

 

[DR OSMAN]

They will not buy the land they will be given it for free if provided they utilize and develop the land that's the example I gave in the Desert land act in the US. The majority of Puntland specifically east of the highway is uninhabited as long as you are from the region you will be given the land probably depends on being from the vicinity. There can be stipulations such as developing it for x number of yeears and not selling it for x number of years etc.

Who is going to buy and invest into a land out in the middle of nowhere? what incentive is there for them? America desert act is all good but in reality I don't see much happening in their desert either. You assume that we are going to get some sort Petra Jordan civilization out of it but the reality is far more depressing. Something is only valuable if people want it, if people dont want something it has no value. Business people invest into something people want, no business man will invest into something people are not after!!! unless they are suicidal of course which is a problem!!!

What u need to do is get researchers out there and find out what sort value can be gained from the land in the desert. Will say a road, water, electricity through-it result in people moving there who can't afford living in the city? and then u can propose something like that to investors but u need to prove it will result in a boom of people and trade!!!!

 

[Deactivated]

Puntland will have green lush fertile land in 10-15 years if protects like this keep happening.

Our biggest challenge is getting access to cheap power. Once we can get electricity it’s game over on xoolonimo.

 

[World]

The Somalis before colonialism survived for centuries and knew how to manage and control the land well. But in the past 20-30 years, all of this is collapsing.

In Sanaag region, the areas of influence of the three main Warsangeli communities encompassed different ecological zones used as seasonal grazing areas: Guban coastal areas; the Al Madow (Golis) and Karkar Mountains; and the Gebi Valley and the Sool Plateau (including Xadeed). Guban and Al-Madow/Karkar were used for dry-season grazing and the Gebi Valley and the Sool Plateau for wet-season grazing. However, according to local communities, prior to colonialism, the Gebi Valley used to be a reserved grazing area:

“We had a traditional technique for range conservation. For centuries, the sultans of the Warsangeli used to protect the grasslands of the Gebi Valley. They were reserved grazing (seere) to preserve grazing for dry seasons and droughts. In Gu, when the rains came, we used to go and graze in Sool Plateau (Ogo and Xadeed) first to allow the grass of the Gebi Valley to grow and then come to the plains in the Gebi Valley. The British and the Somali governments maintained the system, which collapsed after the fall of Siyad Barre”(Hadaaftimo).

“In the old days, we had law and order. We ,the Warsangeli, used to go far away from the Gebi Valley and from the permanent water sources (springs, permanent wells and Laasoin riverbeds) in rainy seasons and come back in dry seasons. The rule changed. The government of Somalia reduced the power of the Sultan, allowed permanent settlement for political reasons and drilled boreholes in the Sool Plateau” (Ceel-Buh).

“The Sool Plateau near Sarmaanyo was a thick waterless woodland, good for grazing and drought resistant. There were a lot of antelopes. Dhulbahante use to migrate here from their permanent water points in the Nugaal Valley during the rainy season.”(Sarmaanyo)

The results:

This phenomen is not happening in just Somalia, but in all communities around the world where nomadic pastoralism remains as a key economic livelihood. It is simply not compatible in the modern capitalist world.

 

[Farm]

Management of grazing lands in Puntland saves pastoralists and their herds from drought

(ERGO) – Local authorities are helping communities in parts of Puntland to revive a traditional method of managing grazing lands, in order to ensure that herders have access to fodder for their livestock even during times of drought.

The authorities in Bari region have worked with the local people to control grazing in the vast Daror Valley, located south of the Golis Mountains.

Mohamud Ismail Issa, the mayor of Isku-Shuban, said the Daror Valley, which covers an area of 2,100 square kilometres, is now part of the controlled grazing reserves (locally called Seerayn) under the management of community elders for use during dry seasons.

After the drought of 2017, the authorities fenced the valley with barbed wire to allow the grasslands to recover. The communities have developed by-laws to regulate the use of the grazing zones, which includes a ban on cutting trees to make charcoal. The reserve is guarded by security teams from the local community.

Around 10,000 pastoralist families moved with their livestock into the valley, after Puntland authorities opened it for grazing in early 2018.

“This is just like paddock grazing,” the mayor explained. “Animals will feed in the open fields whilst the reserve grows enough grass. When the dry season starts, animals are allowed to graze inside the reserve until the next rain. This gives the land time to recover, as these dry areas are highly susceptible to damage from trampling and overgrazing.”

Another similar reserve is being established in Eyn in Bari region, according to Abdullahi Jama’ Ismail, local coordinator for Puntland’s ministry of environment.

“This reserve will support the community’s livestock so that during the dry season, so pastoralists need not move from the area in search of pasture,” Abdullahi told Radio Ergo.

The reserve is also enabling the regrowth of indigenous trees and bushes, as human activity is also restricted. It is hoped this will mitigate some of the long term effects of drought and soil erosion.

A local council of elders has been nominated to manage the reserve.

Ahmed Abdullahi Ali, a pastoralist, said his herd managed to survive the terrible drought of 2017-18 because he was able to graze his livestock in the replenished Daror Valley reserve.

“There was enough grass, the pastoralists have grazed their animals in the reserve and people managed to escape the impact of the drought, We did not experience hard conditions caused by drought because pasture was available,” said Ahmed, who lives 30 km from the reserve.

He hopes that his animals will continue to thrive if the rangeland is well managed.

“It rained recently and the animals have pasture. We have plenty of milk. This step to manage the pasture is good because normally people graze their animals without thinking about what they will do once the grass gets finished,” Ahmed said.

https://radioergo.org/en/2019/06/25...es-pastoralists-and-their-herds-from-drought/

 

[embarassing]

MashaAllah Great work

 

[repo]

Overgrazing is one of the most important contributors to drought loses.

 

[Crow]

Mashallah! I am glad that the people see and understand the benefit that this brings. This way it doesn't have to be forced on them. Hopefully this technique spreads to other parts of Puntland.

 

[Qarboosh]

Dharoor after being fenced off to allow proper vegetation growth

 

[𐒁𐒚𐒒𐒂𐒘𐒂𐒗 𐒎𐒚𐒗𐒗𐒒]

PSF's goal is to plant 1 MILLION trees

 

[Bosaso]

Maa Shaa Allah

 

[Hassan Garguute Buldanana]

Mashallah

 

[arawelo]

this is what i’m talking about. make somali regions green again!

 

[Revolutionary]

this is what i’m talking about. make somali regions green again!

Agreed, greening the environment would make all the difference