Survey of British Somaliland

Abstract

SUGGESTION for a general survey of British SomaKkind "fte made before the War in connexion with /wd| J|upplies, soil erosion and other problems atfocmjjJthff general development of the country, but Kvw® a/t put into execution at the time. The Military tejpvernment of the Protectorate has now issued a report outlining survey made and data collected from 1942 onwards, and recording the work of a special department under Major J. A. Hunt from its inception in August 1943 until December 1944 (Report on General Survey of British Somaliland, 1944. Pp. 12 + 17 charts. (Burao: Gov. Press, 1946.) 3s. 6d.). The programme of work of the department conforms roughly to that advocated by Dr. E. B. Worthington in, "Science in Africa", and starts with the accurate collection of meteorological and geological data, followed by a soil survey, plant and then animal ecology. The preliminary results are illustrated in a series of maps and diagrams published with the report, covering rainfall, plant ecology and tribal migrations and potential developments in minerals, water, agriculture and roads. The General Survey has now been recognized in principle by the Colonial Office, and funds have been provided under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act to finance an "economic survey and reconnaissance"with a programme extending until 1950. The water and mineral surveys will be made by two specialist geologists, on arrival and may take up to two years. Altitude, rainfall and plant ecology are closely interrelated, and rain crop cultivation can only be considered and tested in a limited area above 4,000 ft. Sites are recommended for irrigation gardens and date plantations, and a new road from Berbera to El Afwein and Hudun is recommended as being situated on the most direct route to the eastern part of the Protectorate with no difficult escarpments to surmount. The Military Governor points out in his introduction to the report that the political and economic life of the Protectorate and neighbouring countries is threatened by increasing migrations of Somali tribes, who will be unable to find subsistence in their own country if conditions continue to deteriorate. The report strongly recommends publication of reports and specialist papers to stimulate interest in research, and also that when the two years survey of water and minerals has been carried out, the-SKirvey should organise a technical library and laboratory in Burao, which is the natural centre for any scientific work in the Protectorate.