Central Somalia Research Articles

Clustering time trends of breast cancer incidence in Africa: a 27-year longitudinal study in 53 countries

Breast cancer is the most common, frequently diagnosed cancer with the highest incidence among female worldwide. Although the incidence is decreasing in developed countries, it is on increase in most of the African countries. This study aimed to identify different time trends of breast cancer incidence among African countries using latent mixture approach. The information includes newly diagnosed breast cancer patients per 100,000 women for 53 African countries in a period of 1990-2016. Latent mixture modeling was performed in Mplus 7.4 software. The overall trend of breast cancer in Africa was increasing. Latent mixture model with 5 clusters was estimated as the best using fit indices and linear growth trajectories were specified for each cluster. Nigeria was the only country which belongs to a cluster with negative slope indicating a slow decrease in the breast cancer incidence; also, Seychelles was the only country that showed a sharp increase over time. 31 countries belonged to a cluster with a slope of 0.08, indicating that the incidence of breast cancer is almost constant over time. Cluster 3 including Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, Cote d'lvoire, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Namibia, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda and Zimbabwe and cluster 2 including Gabon, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia and Congo showed a slow and moderate increase in the incidence of breast cancer, respectively. Providing health education programs is essential in African countries with rising trend of breast cancer during the last decades.

A new species of Pseudoblepharispermum (Asteraceae, Plucheeae) from NE Somalia

Baldesi, G., L. Pignotti & R.M. Baldini (2020). A new species of Pseudoblepharispermum (Asteraceae, Plucheeae) from NE Somalia. Candollea 75: 183–188. In English, English abstract.A new species of the genus Pseudoblepharispermum Lebrun & Stork (Asteraceae), up to now including Pseudoblepharispermum bremeri Lebrun & Stork and Pseudoblepharispermum mudugense Beentje & D.J.N. Hind, is described from two herbarium specimens housed at FT, collected in 1954 near the Indian Ocean coast of Bari Region, NE Somalia. These specimens formed an unidentified remaining part of a collection given to FT by the Italian geologists G. Merla, A. Azzaroli and V. Fois, who had led a geologic expedition in the former Migiurtinia (current Bari Region) on behalf of an Italian oil company. The new species Pseudoblepharispermum tuddense Baldesi & Pignotti is more similar to Pseudoblepharispermum bremeri from S Ethiopia than to Pseudoblepharispermum mudugense from central Somalia. Close examinations of macro- and micro-characters were carried out for the new species and compared with the features of Pseudoblepharispermum bremeri. Diagnostic characters are listed to support the taxonomic distinction between the new species and Pseudoblepharispermum bremeri.Received: May 9, 2020; Accepted: August 20, 2020; First published online: October 29, 2020

The magma-poor Somalian continental margin: Lower crustal boudinage and mantle exhumation

Combined interpretation of 2D reflection seismic data and 2D gravity modelling reveals an Iberian-type magma-poor margin across the Obbia Basin in offshore central Somalia. The configuration of the syn-rift and post-rift sediments as well as the upper crust, the lower crust and the Moho delineates four distinct marginal domains. The proximal domain is characterized by thickest crust and narrow underfilled basins, bounded by normal faults piercing the low-reflective upper crust. On top of the upper crust, there is a thick package of Karoo-aged pre-rift sediments (>2 s two-way time (TWT)). A major normal fault, with a throw of 4 s (TWT) dissects the sediments, the crystalline crust and likely also the Moho and represents the necking point, the oceanward limit of the proximal domain and the transition to the necking domain. The necking domain hosts deep half-grabens filled with wedge-shaped syn-rift sediments of likely Early Jurassic age. Crustal thinning was predominantly accommodated by ductile extension of the high-reflective lower crust, resulting locally in lower crustal boudins. With ongoing extension, the upper crust may have become completely detached from the lower crust and rests on the upper mantle at present-day. Within the subsequent hyperextended domain, the Moho shallows significantly and reaches the top basement level in the seaward portion of the line. Normal faults commonly penetrate through the entire crust and bound minor isolated syn-rift deposits. The termination of the hyperextended domain is marked by a major, shallow-dipping, concave downward fault that apparently connects the Moho with the top basement further seaward. Several small continental blocks, so-called extensional allochthones may be present in the transitional area between the coupling point and the exhumation point. The absence of Moho reflections in the east of the profile indicates that crust may be absent and the upper mantle is exhumed.

Impact of Climate Change and Vulnerability Assessment of Pastoralists Located in South Central Somalia Based on Income and Marital Status

Recent changes in climate over the last three decades, have increased the incidences of severe droughts and floods in Somalia. Moreover, the frequent internal conflicts increases the level of vulnerability of its citizens’ to climate change impacts. The UNDP puts at 5 million, the number of Somali people affected by drought incidences. Notably, factors such as income and marital status influence the vulnerability status of individuals in the region. This study assessed the vulnerability and impact of climate change of South Central Somali pastoralists based on income and marital status. The research was conducted through structured interviews and questionnaires and the sample size for the study was 400. The divorcees, were found to be the most vulnerable, compared to the married, singles and widows. On the other hand, the higher income earners were found to be less vulnerable to climate change impacts compared to the lower income earners. The findings demonstrate that marital status and income, play a key role in influencing the level of vulnerability of the individuals in the study area. The information can be used to formulate policies that will provide appropriate interventions to the most affected groups.

Malnutrition and morbidity trends in Somalia between 2007 and 2016: results from 291 cross-sectional surveys

BackgroundMore than two decades of conflict and natural disasters in Somalia have resulted in one of the longest running humanitarian crises in the world. Nutrition data have been collected over...

Are children in South and Central Somalia accessing education, and are they learning? Baseline information

Abstract This study investigates the status of access to formal education in post-conflict South and Central Somalia and the resultant learning outcomes. For access, the indicators of enrollment and school attendance are considered. Other related indicators such as pupils-to-classroom ratio, desks-to-children ratio, access to electricity, and toilet-to-pupils ratio are also investigated. For learning outcomes, teacher-to-student ratio, learners’ performance in national standardized examinations, and learning competency in reading and numeracy are analyzed to determine whether the children are learning or not. The survey covered five states, namely Banadir, Galmudug, Hir-Shabelle, South West and Jubbaland. Mixed methods in data collection were used, involving field-level engagements through a survey questionnaire, the administration of competency tests, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Ultimately, 549 respondents participated in the study including 365 learners who sat literacy and numeracy assessments. The findings reveal that not all school-aged children in South and Central Somalia are accessing school. Even when they do, they are seldom learning. This paper offers suggestions on how to enhance access and learning.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Malnutrition Among Children Aged 6-59 Months in Badbaado Camp in Mogadishu Somalia

The purpose was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition among children age 6-59 months in Badbaado IDP camp in Mogadishu Somalia. Since 1990 in southern central Somalia, approximately 1.3 million people are internally displaced (IDP) due to war and famine, levels of malnutrition in children under five remain appallingly high at over 15%. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional. Sample size of 406 respondents was calculated using (Kish 1965) formula. Systematic sampling was used to select the households and a child aged 6-59 months. Pre-tested structured questionnaires were used to collect the socio- demographic characteristics of the children and their caretakers, feeding practices and health factors of the children. Anthropometric measurements of 406 children aged 6-59 months were undertaken. The data was captured using Epi Data version 3.0 and analyzed STATA 12. The anthropometric data were analyzed using ENA SMART. Results: The prevalence of stunting and under-weight was 66% and 59.9% respectively, the prevalence of wasting was high 41.6%. Children whose caretaker were employed by public were more likely to be stunted and underweight compared with the children whose caretaker were self-employed (p value=0.0407and 0.0278) respectively. Children who were consumed inadequate food groups were at risk of being stunted adjusted OR 1.93 95%CI 0.97-3.84 (P-value=0.06). Conclusion and recommendation: There is high prevalence of malnutrition (wasting, stunting and underweight) among children in the internally displaced people’s camps in Badbaado Mogadishu Somalia. Children who started complementary feeding after six months, suffered fever, and those who consumed inadequate food groups were more at risk of becoming stunted. The Ministry of Health of Somalia should create awareness sessions using mass media on prevention malnutrition.

The skull osteology of the blind cave cyprinid Phreatichthys andruzzii Vinciguerra, 1924

The present article describes the morphology of the skull of Phreatichthys andruzzii Vinciguerra, 1924, blind cave fish from central Somalia. The main findings concern a general flattening of the skull and the loss of several bones (coronomeckelian, prefrontal, supratemporal, intercalar, supraopercle) belonging to the various regions of the head skeleton; but the more important modifications are shown by the orbital region, consisting in the complete disappearance of lachrymal, suborbital, sclerotics, and the substantial reduction of the other circumorbital bones. Usually the cranial lateral line canals run through the dermal bones; on the contrary in P. andruzzii the canals are nearly exclusively sheathed by thin bony muffs. These are sometimes fused to the underlying dermal bones, but in several regions they remain fully separated and independent, running through the adjoining soft tissues. The considerable degree of osteological regression shown by the skull appears to be related to the high level of a...

Forecasting life expectancy, years of life lost, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 250 causes of death: reference and alternative scenarios for 2016–40 for 195 countries and territories

Forecasting life expectancy, years of life lost, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 250 causes of death: reference and alternative scenarios for 2016–40 for 195 countries and territories

Handle with Care! A Qualitative Comparison of the Fragile States Index's Bottom Three Countries: Central African Republic, Somalia and South Sudan

ABSTRACTFor the past four years, the Fund for Peace has ranked the Central African Republic, Somalia and South Sudan as the ‘most fragile states’ in the world, in its annual Fragile States Index (FSI). The three countries’ almost identical scores suggest comparability; however, critics raise concerns about the FSI's data aggregation methods, and its conflation of causes and consequences. This article treads the uncharted path of unpacking the empirical realities that hide behind FSI indicators. Drawing on data collected during field research in the three states, the authors investigate three security indicators (security apparatus, factionalized elites, and external intervention) and propose an alternative, qualitative appreciation. Each country's fragility is based on how security forces, elites and interventions evolved over time and installed themselves differently in each region of the country. The qualitative assessment presented here shows that not every indicator matters in all cases at all times or throughout the country. Most crucially, the authors unveil enormous differences between and within the FSI's three ‘most fragile states’. Such variations call for better‐adapted and more flexible intervention strategies, and for quantitative comparisons to be qualitatively grounded.

Sero-prevalence study to determine the effectiveness of Peste de Petits Ruminants vaccination in Somalia

Peste de Petits Ruminants (PPR) is an acute or sub-acute highly contagious viral disease of small ruminants caused by morbillivirus and associated with high mortality and morbidity rates in naïve populations, colossal economic losses, reduced production and productivity as well as high control costs. Sero-surveys conducted in Somalia between 2006 and 2009 revealed sero-prevalence of 6.5% in north-western Somalia, 28.7% in north-eastern Somalia, 32.6% in central Somalia and 37.6% in southern Somalia.Somalia, like other countries in conflict, has limited capacity to control PPR. In this regard, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) conducted country-wide PPR vaccination campaigns covering the five zones of Somalia, namely, Banadir, central, north-eastern, north-western and southern using a public-private partnership approach. Approximately 20 million sheep and goats constituting 60% of the estimated Somalia national small ruminant population were targeted for vaccination in entire Somalia in 2012. Data on vaccination was captured using FAO’s Form Monitoring Tool (FMT) software. The overall unit cost of PPR vaccination was estimated to be USD 0.28 per animal.Two serological surveys were conducted before and after the vaccination campaigns where a two-stage cluster sampling methodology was used to collect sera samples for analysis. The results showed an overall increase in individual animal sero-prevalence from 62 to 76% after PPR vaccination campaign.This paper primarily focuses on practicality of PPR control in Somalia, a conflict-affected and fragile zone, which can be adopted by other countries.

ATTEMPTS TO PROTECT SAFETY IN THE AFRICAN REGION IN THE EXAMPLE OF SOMALIA

The Horn of Africa, which is situated in the north-east Africa, comprises mainly Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti which cover region of the Somali peninsula. It is one of the area of the world belonging to the most affected by natural disasters, poverty, famine, conflicts and crime. Due to its geographical location on point of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean as well the close position to the Arabian peninsula it is the most geo-strategically important regions of the world in terms of military and economic significance. That is why the world powers were and are still interested in it. The main topic of this article is the fragile state - Somalia. It was selected here in terms of its geographical location, high level of instability, civil war, famine and piracy problem or terrorist groups activities as an example of difficult political situation of the Horn of Africa and the attempts of the main economic competitors in Africa - The European Union, China and The United States of America - in order to achieve stabilization in the region. The prime aim of this analysis based on the source materials, subject reading matters and media news, is the presentation the most essential current activities of the above international actors that lead them to rise in the level of security in Somalia and neighbouring sea, straits, ocean and strengthening the Federal Government of Somalia and its security structure. The present condition of the Somali National Army and its future transformation are also presented in this work. Taking all above into consideration it was hard not to give attention to peacekeeping African Union Mission in Somalia AMISOM active since 2007 with approval of the United Nations Security Council. Despite the deep criticism of its activities by the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch, AMISOM has taken over most areas of central and south Somalia until now. What is more, the research points also the main legal framework that make possible foreign security aid in Somalia. In case of the EU - The Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy (2016) and the Strategy for the Horn of Africa (2011). In the case of the US - the New National Security Strategy announced by president Trump in December 2017. Additionally, the article is focused on the growing presence of China in the Horn of Africa what is highly visible in the creation of the first foreign military Chinese base opened in July2017 in the neighbouring to Somalia - Djibouti. As a result of the analysis of the current activities of AMISOM, pointed American or Chinese actions and the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Somalia: European Union Naval Force ATALANTA (EUNAVFOR ATALANTA Somalia), European Union Training Mission (EUTM Somalia) and European Union Capacity Building Mission (EUCAP Somalia) a few essential conclusions can be made: the regular trade competitors in the race for their impacts in modern Africa - EU, China, US - are able to cooperate in taking care about either own and the Horn of Africa benefits if it is necessary, the level of security and democracy in Somalia has risen significantly in the last decade and a threat of piracy has fallen definitely in region of the Aden Gulf, The Red Sea and the Indian Ocean as an effect of activities of AMISOM, the Combined Task Forces, the EU peace missions and separate states. Nevertheless, the level of security which has been reached is really fragile and it may be disturbed easily when international security aid services will be over, the foreign peace missions active nowadays will be continued but with the tendency to their limitation in the next few years, the tasks of the peacekeeping African Union Mission in Somalia AMISOM, that is step by step limited and it is planned to stop in 2020, will be taken over by the transformed Somali national Army and Police, it is highly impossible to become self-supporting and to reach full independence of the Somali security structure from foreign peacekeeping assistance just in 2 years so that Somalia itself can guarantee own security and take over the prior AMISOM tasks, the full security and saving the political and economic stability in Somalia in the future may be possible not only by temporary military and humanitarian aid but also by so called fundamental work. So both of them are necessary at this stage of development of Somalia; Key words: Somalia, the Horn of Africa, piracy, Al-Shabaab, international security, maritime security, peace missions, terrorism

Aid and the Perpetuation of Refugee Camps: The Case of Dadaab in Kenya 1991–2011

The refugee complex at Dadaab in North Eastern Kenya was established in the early 1990s. It has become known as the largest refugee settlement in the world since renewed fighting in south and central Somalia in 2006 pushed yet more Somalis into these long-established camps. Marked by problems related to poor living conditions and economic circumstances, camps of this size are very often a source of instability and insecurity, and their management has been widely discussed in the scholarly as well as policy literature. This article examines the role and responsibility of aid organisations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres in the establishment and perpetuation of camps. When refugee camps become restrictive and repressive, the article asks, are aid agencies necessarily exempt from responsibility? Drawing on the Medecins Sans Frontieres’ archives regarding their Dadaab operations up to 2011 and direct professional experience in this refugee camp, this article illuminates humanitarian complicity in situations of containment and protracted exile, arguing that this can have wider implications for the management of refugee populations all over the world.

What's Wrong with Doing Good? Reflections on Africa, Humanitarianism, and the Challenge of the Global

What’s Wrong with Doing Good? Reflections on Africa, Humanitarianism, and the Challenge of the Global Michelle Moyd For the last year or so, I have been preparing to teach a new course on the history of humanitarianism, with a particular emphasis on what I label the ethics of doing good. As a historian of eastern African soldiers, militaries, and violence, I have long thought about humanitarianism in relation to how African peoples have coped with catastrophe in different times and places. But my interest in the topic goes back much further. In December 1992, as a twenty-four-year-old Air Force lieutenant, I was deployed to Somalia as part of Operation Restore Hope. President George H. W. Bush pitched this international military intervention in Somalia’s civil war as a noble venture, which would interrupt interfactional violence so that humanitarian agencies could deliver food aid to rural Somali areas in need. Though I was untrained in African history or politics, the supposed nobility of the operation resonated for me. After all, what other organization besides the US military could do this work with such efficiency, rapidly transporting thousands of troops and tons of military equipment and supplies across the globe, and then setting up a logistics chain and security apparatus within Somalia to assist with food distribution? In this post–cold war New World Order, and in the immediate aftermath of the first Gulf war, this military deployment seemed to show that the United States was on a new path of bringing good to the world. I redeployed to the United States before the events of October 1993 now known by the shorthand “Blackhawk down” changed perceptions of the US military intervention. The battle of Mogadishu became the basis for the Clinton administration’s waffling, obfuscation, and inaction during the Rwanda genocide of 1994. Lost in the portrayal of outnumbered but heroic US troops fighting their way out of Mogadishu are the thousands of Somalis who died in this battle, and others that had died over the preceding three months.1 In addition, I later learned, the US military’s reckless actions in October 1993 in Mogadishu had many historical precedents in the colonial wars of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While still on active duty, I began studying for a master’s degree in African history at the University [End Page 92] of Florida. As I began developing the critical reading and thinking skills of a budding professional historian, I realized that I had horribly misjudged the innocence of Operation Restore Hope. As I learned the patterns and details of Europe’s history of civilizing missions and military interventions in Africa, I came to recognize the paternalist arrogance and violence built into colonial projects of the nineteenth and twentieth century. I realized my Somalia experience had troublesome dimensions that I had never contemplated. How could the impulse to do good in the world be so vexed?2 Two decades later, I understand more fully the multiple analytical registers needed to capture the humanitarian international in its various manifestations.3 As new dimensions of human misery on a global scale reveal themselves through the news and social media, humanitarianism is on everyone’s minds. Even as I am writing this now, Hurricane Matthew threatens destruction of communities across the Caribbean and the southeastern US coast, many of which are poor and vulnerable. Calls from relief organizations for financial contributions to assist with humanitarian need began circulating on social media and e-mail before the storm made landfall anywhere. The wrongness of such suffering is clear, even if the magnitude in each new case must remain incomprehensible to most of us. Far less clear is how to change the structural dimensions of global politics and economics that have led to sustained poverty in places like Haiti, which, still suffering the effects of the 2010 earthquake (which killed hundreds of thousands), now has to reckon with starting over in the wake of a hurricane. On the African continent, it is far less clear how to change the multivalent factors that have forced mass migrations from places as diverse as Eritrea, Central African Republic, Somalia, Burundi, and Nigeria. As...

BLOODSHED AND BREAKING WAVE: THE FIRST OUTBREAK OF SOMALI PIRACY

Ten years ago, Somalia suffered its first outbreak of piracy. In early 2005, pirates began appearing hundreds of nautical miles out at sea, attacking and hijacking vessels off the shores of central Somalia. However, the circumstances of this outbreak remain poorly understood. Why did pirate groups originate from an area with a negligible history of maritime predation? The present study explored the environment within which Somalia’s first outbreak of piracy occurred, and offers a critical re-think of its origins. Drawing on the author’s own extensive fieldwork as well as contemporary reports, the study explored how pirate ventures were launched after the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004 had obliterated the coastal economy. The tsunami coincided with the eruption of a deadly and highly destabilising conflict, unprecedented for a coastal area that had remained relatively peaceful since the state collapse in 1991. The tsunami and the establishment of the South Mudug piracy model in Harardhere and Hobyo in 2005 laid the foundation for a decade of ransom piracy.

An overview of conflict in Africa in 2014

Violent conflict escalated in Africa in 2014, with five sub-Saharan states – the Central African Republic (CAR), Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan – accounting for an estimated 75% of all conflict-related deaths on the continent. This paper provides an overview of the five major sub-Saharan African conflicts in 2014 and considers the underlying causes and dynamics in the Seleka/anti-Balaka conflict in the CAR, the Islamist threats of Boko Haram and al-Shabaab in Nigeria and Somalia, the civil war in South Sudan, and the long-running conflict between Sudan's government and southern and Darfuri rebels. The paper unpacks the general trends evident in these conflicts and the implications for the settlement thereof, including the targeting of civilians, ethnic and religious mobilisation and the state as epicentre of violence. The paper concludes with a brief look ahead to 2015.

Geografia prześladowań chrześcijan w krajach islamskich

Chrześcijanie są prześladowani na całym świecie nie wyłączając Europy i nie tylko w krajach islamskich, ale i w Indiach, Chinach, Korei czy Kolumbii. Ograniczenie tematu do krajów islamskich podyktowane jest faktem, że w tych krajach jest ono najbardziej drastyczne i krwawe. Badaniami objęto początek XXI w. Po analizie źródeł można sobie wyrobić pogląd na temat skali i zakresu geograficznego tych prześladowań. Najczęściej mają miejsce tam, gdzie islam ma swoje korzenie lub strefy wpływów. Od 2011 r. obserwuje się nasilenie prześladowań w krajach Azji Południowo-Zachodniej i krajach afrykańskich: Afganistanie, na Malediwach, w Somalii i Arabii Saudyjskiej, w Republice Środkowoafrykańskiej, RPA, Syrii, Pakistanie, Egipcie, Iraku, Somalii. Podobne tendencje wzrostowe prześladowań następują w innych krajach afrykańskich jak w Czadzie i Sudanie. Do Iraku i Syrii napływają dżihadyści z krajów Azji Południowo-Wschodniej jak Indonezja, Malezja i Australia. Także wielu wyznawców islamu z państw europejskich jak Francja, Niemcy czy Wielka Brytania wyraża chęć przystąpienia do muzułmańskich ugrupowań zbrojnych. Zakres geograficzny prześladowań chrześcijan przez terroryzm islamski ciągle się poszerza a potęgi światowe zachowują prawie całkowite milczenie na temat tych aktów deptania praw człowieka. Czy ktoś na świecie zareaguje? Czy pozostaną tylko modlitwa i łzy? A może także dobrze zrobiłoby nagłośnianie problemu?

ḤUDŪDPUNISHMENTS IN THE FOREFRONT: APPLICATION OF ISLAMIC CRIMINAL LAW BY HARAKAT AL-SHABAAB AL-MUJAHIDEEN

AbstractHarakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, usually referred to as al-Shabaab (the youth), is known primarily as a Somali terrorist group. But since the end of 2008, it has functioned as a state power in large parts of Southern and Central Somalia. In this article, I analyze the main legal body of the group: theqāḍīcourt. In order to establish law and order in their territories, al-Shabaab has applied their own version ofsharī'a. The article reveals that al-Shabaab's application of criminal law follows the inherent logic of classical Islamic legal doctrines on several points. However, the al-Shabaab courts tend to overlook many of the strict requirements regarding evidence and procedure that were outlined by the medieval Muslim scholars in order to humanize Islamic law. Therefore, the legal reality of al-Shabaab's regime is far more brutal than that of most other Islamic-inspired regimes in the contemporary Muslim world. Al-Shabaab's practice of Islamic criminal law may be seen not only as a means to exercise control through fear but also as an effective way of filling the vacuum of insecurity and instability that has followed twenty years of violence and the absence of state institutions in its territories. I argue that, in order to understand al-Shabaab's current practice of criminal law, one has to take into consideration the group's jihadi-Salafi affiliation. According to Salafi notions,sharī'ais not only a means to an end, but an end in itself. As such,sharī'a(i.e., God's divine law) is the visual symbol of an Islamic state. Consequently, the application of Islamic criminal law, and especially of theḥudūdpunishments, provides al-Shabaab with political-religious legitimacy.

An Assessment of the Socio-Economic and Ecological Impacts of Environmental Changes on Rural Livelihood: A Study Across Addado, Buhodle and Northern Galkaayo of Central and Northern Somalia

The international community has long recognized desertification as a significant global social, economic and environmental problem of concern with detrimental effects on the livelihoods of people in many countries world-wide. To explore this critique, this study examined local people’s views on the causes, effect and socio-economic impact of desertification and degradation to the community. The study involved a cross-sectional survey conducted with four community categories, namely nomadic pastoralist, agro-pastoralists, villagers and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), from Addado, Buhodle and northern Galkaayo of central and northern part of Somalia; through questionnaire-based interviews. Descriptive statistics attribute environmental changes to negative implications of human activities on the environment: the menace of which led to a decline in forage, current loss of biodiversity and the related changes in the environment, permanent migration, increased poverty and health problems. The startling results of this study conclusively demonstrate that the challenges involve proper interventions for tree planting against desertification as well as for community empowerment through public education and formation of community based environmental associations to coordinate the overall environmental management activities and to raise public awareness.

Commiphora oddurensisChiov. andC. suffruticosaTeshome (Burseraceae): taxonomy, distribution, ecology and conservation status

On field trips to southeastern Ethiopia in 2012 the authors collected a semi-prostrate shrub of the genus Commiphora and matching the taxon named “Commiphora sp. = Friis et al. 3160” in the Flora of Ethiopia (1989). In the Flora of Somalia (1999) “Commiphora sp. = Friis et al. 3160” was considered a synonym of Commiphora oddurensis Chiov. However, in 2006 “Commiphora sp. = Friis et al. 3160” was described as a distinct species endemic to southeastern Ethiopia and named Commiphora suffruticosa Teshome. Although validly published, that scientific name has not been included in international data bases. After field observations and examination of almost all existing material in herbaria, it is concluded that the two taxa are best treated as subspecies, with some overlap in certain characters and a population of specimens in Central Somalia intermediate in leaf morphology: Commiphora oddurensis subsp. oddurensis, widely distributed in northeastern Kenya and northeastern and central Somalia, and subsp. suffruti...