Recommendations for addressing drought displacement in Somalia

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) embarked on a research programme in December 2018 to investigate internal displacement associated with slowonset disasters and environmental change. As part of that programme, Somali-speaking local enumerators collected quantitative and qualitative data in October 2019 in the cities of Burco in Togdheer region, Galkayo in Mudug and Qardho in Bari to examine displacement associated with drought. The objectives of the study were to investigate the interplay between different drivers and drought in triggering displacement from rural to urban areas, as well as to provide a better understanding of conditions and priorities for local integration and returns. The overall goal was to support policy and programming for durable solutions.
Amid growing needs and the risk of future displacement resulting from drought, IDMC engaged with key humanitarian actors in Somalia to identify recommendations for addressing the issue more efficiently. Building on the study conducted in July 2019, a workshop was organized in November 2020.

This paper presents the key recommendations resulting from that workshop. Participants identified areas for different types of interventions, illustrated in the map below. These include climate-sensitive agriculture and innovative, climate-related solutions for seeds and production. They also include nature based solutions, such as permaculture and regreening, in areas outside of urban centres that receive less attention (in blue); the provision of safety nets, skills training, drought insurance schemes, small business grants and unconditional cash transfers in urban areas with high numbers of IDPs (in yellow); and assessments to determine levels of tenure security, the generation of title deeds for land and the provision of specialized legal aid services in informal settlements and urban IDP sites (in orange).