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The Somaliland government marked World Environment Day on Tuesday (June 5th) by planting 20,000 trees in major towns across the region.

The tree-planting event was organised by the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, to call attention to environmental degradation and ways to reverse the trend.

Somaliland celebrated the day to the highest level, Minister of Environment and Rural Development Mohamoud Said Gaamay told Sabahi.

World Environment Day was established by the United Nations to mark the opening of the 1972 Stockholm Conference on environmental issues. It is celebrated on June 5th every year.

Tuesday's event brought together a variety of officials and citizens of Somaliland under the theme "Let everyone participate and plant one tree". The planting effort includes the areas of Marodi-jeh, Awdal, Sahil and Togdheer, Gaamay said.

Director General of the Ministry of Health Abdi Ahmed Nur said during the event that his ministry donated 50 trees that will be planted at the premises of a new maternity hospital under construction in Hargeisa.

Somaliland officials also used the event to call attention to illegal logging, the environmental impact of cutting trees for charcoal and to promote alternative sources of energy.

Gaamay said 80% of people living in Somaliland are pastoralists who depend on animals for their livelihood.

"We would like to urge people living in rural areas to support the government in implementing this plan and stop both those who cut trees and those who fence land for non-agricultural use," Gaamay said.

He said it is important for the public to participate in protecting the environment and stop those involved in "illegal deforestation".

Mohamed Farah Hirsi, director general of the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development, said charcoal burning, fencing land used for grazing, expansion of towns, frequent droughts and climate change all contribute to environmental degradation in Somaliland.

Somaliland Minister of Agriculture Farah Elmi Mohamud gave a speech at the event in which he said trees are essential to human life. He said those who log trees for the purposes of turning them into charcoal for profit and those who fence land for personal use have committed crimes against people and animals.

"Most of what [we] eat comes from trees; they are essential for the rains [and ecosystem]. One could say life would not exist without trees, so it is imperative that we protect nature and give it its due value," Mohamud said.

Yusuf Olad Sed, regional co-ordinator of the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development in Marodi-jeh region, also called attention to the human impact on the environment.

"The desertification we are experiencing now in Somaliland comes as a result of human activities such as burning down trees and fencing non-arable lands that could have been used for grazing," Sed said.

Gaamay said his ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of Energy, with funding from the African Development Bank, to implement a policy to promote coal mining instead of using charcoal from trees. The ministry is also working with the support of United Nations Development Programme to use recycled sawdust for fuel to help reduce deforestation.

The Hargeisa-based Somgas distribution company has promoted clean cooking fuel options as an alternative to charcoal and firewood burning in Somaliland since 2009.

Gaamay said the government provides tax incentives and supports the company's endeavours to promote the use of propane cooking fuel as a viable alternative to charcoal.

"We educate people to use these gas cylinders for cooking. For this reason, the government is discouraging and reducing over-reliance on charcoal," he said.

There are no accurate figures for how many trees are felled every year, but Gaamay said thousands of tons of charcoal are used daily in Hargeisa.

Togdheer and Sanaag are the leading regions in logging trees, but the government has put measures in place to protect them. The Ministry of Environment and Rural Development is planning to recruit forest guards, according to Gaamay.

"When we recruit this special force for protecting the environment, we will reclaim many lands that are currently used by individuals who fenced it for their own use, and give it back to the pastoral community for grazing their animals," Gaamay said.