“The city had no trees in its streets, and the air was thick with the scent and smoke of charcoal from burnt trees, and the lush grasses and towering acacia trees which I had grown up with along the Juba River were not there,” she recalls.
“But I vowed,” she adds, “to make the city green one day!”
The 55-year-old Ms. Abdi had moved to Kismayo – the interim capital of Somalia’s southernmost Federal Member State – for safety.
Prior to that shift, and the outbreak of the country’s civil war, she had a relatively idyllic life in the green village of Dujuma, some 179 kilometres away from Kismayo in Jubaland’s Middle Juba region.
She was born there in 1970 and grew up surrounded by the bounty of the Juba River: fruit trees, fertile soil and seemingly endless forests.
The change to Kismayo was bracing. In 1991, Somalia’s civil war was brewing and, with people focused on preparing for the looming conflict or trying to survive or escape the coming violence, environmental concerns were pushed to the background.
The diversion made an already-challenging environmental situation in Kismayo even worse.
Like many other parts of Somalia, most households used charcoal for cooking which had caused major deforestation in and around the city – this led to soil degradation, barren landscapes, and increased vulnerability to climate change.
Beginnings
At a quick glance, asides from growing up in lush surroundings thanks to the nearby Juba River and a personal appreciation of her country’s environmental richness, there was no indication of the direction that Ms. Abdi’s life would take.
Between 1976 and 1988, she attended Marerey Primary and Secondary School, after which she was employed at a local sugarcane mill, acquiring skills that would later serve her in her activism, not only in terms of discipline and teamwork but also, in relation to mobilizing community support.
Between 1991 and 2014 she was in Kismayo, serving as a volunteer in support of the city’s vulnerable populations – most of them, displaced by conflict and suffering from deprivation – and focused on supporting her six children, aged between 13 and 25.
Then, in 2016, she decided the time had finally come to fulfill the promise she had made to herself many years earlier.
It was not easy, with many mocking her for her aspirations.
“Some people said my efforts were pointless – that it would be more practical to start running my own business because an environmental initiative was unrealistic in Somalia’s context,” she says.
At this stage, Ms. Abdi worked as a volunteer for the district administration. In her limited spare time, she searched for a suitable piece of land to begin her project – without any financial or technical support.
“People asked me, ‘Why plant trees when people are struggling to feed their children?’” she recalls.
Yet she remained unfazed.
“I have lived through the conflicts that have shaken this city,” she says. “But survival is not enough. We must rebuild, plant trees, and make Kismayo green and livable again.”
Neighbourhood help
Ms. Abdi pulled together a small group of supporters – just 15 people – and secured a patch of land thanks to a donation from Kismayo’s district administration.
“I rallied a team of women and men to gather seeds, nurture seedlings, and prepare soil, while other women tended the young plants,” Ms. Abdi says.
“When we started our first tree-planting initiative, no one else in the city was willing to take on what was seen as a waste of energy and resources,” she adds. “Our motivation was not profit; it was simply to serve our community.”
Mohamed Farah Abdi, one of the long-serving volunteers who works with Ms. Abdi, highlights the appreciation they now receive from local Kismayo residents.
“Our initiative has now spread across much of the city, raising awareness among residents about the urgent need for tree planting to combat environmental degradation,” Mr. Abdi says.
“After nurturing new plants in our community gardens,” he continues, “we not only ensure their growth but also offer comprehensive advice on their care, including selecting the right soil for healthy development.”
Slowly but determinedly, Ms. Abdi’s efforts began to take root.
Now, with almost a decade since those seedlings were first planted in areas located near government locations, her greening project has blossomed with new green spaces in the city’s main neighbourhood parks and recreation areas.
“We have also carried out afforestation projects at the Jubaland State House, the Kismayo Airport, military and police barracks, and prominent hotels,” she says.
Between 2015 to 2017, with the support of the American Refugee Council, Ms. Abdi and her team planted 2,000 trees in New Kismayo, a settlement on the city’s northern side designated for Somali refugees returning from Kenya. Once a dry, windswept area, it is now a thriving community, with trees providing shade and improving livability.
The efforts of Ms. Abdi and her now-grown group of volunteers have been recognized by local authorities in Kismayo. They often collaborate with Jubaland’s Ministry of Environment and district-level authorities on reforestation programmes to highlight the importance of environmental protection to the Federal Member State’s residents.
Still serving as a volunteer, she and her team now oversee three major afforestation initiatives, including one in the heart of Kismayo’s administrative centre, and other projects in the city’s Farjano neighbourhood as well as Qamqam village, located 20 kilometres outside of the city.
Future
In 2022, Ms. Abdi had a breakthrough of sorts. With the support of Jubaland’s Ministry of Environment and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – Germany’s agency for international cooperation – she received specialised training in Kenya on sustainable tree-planting techniques.
The training allowed her to establish connections with a Kenyan tree nursery association, which now helps supply seeds for her projects, in addition to other seed donations received from other environmental associations in Mogadishu.
Asides from planting seeds and greening Kismayo, Ms. Abdi’s efforts also focus on raising awareness and involvement.
“There is an urgent need for greater support for environmental activists. Climate change is an immediate crisis, and the United Nations and other organisations must find ways to support these initiatives and afforestation projects – doing so could even mitigate recurring emergencies like floods and droughts,” she says.
In the longer-term, Ms. Abdi hopes to expand her environmental efforts beyond Kismayo, into the severe deforestation outside of the city and is immediate surrounds.
“I want to reach these critically affected regions and launch reforestation projects that can make a real difference,” she says.
“It’s not easy – we faced issues like goats devouring seedlings, as well as a lack of funding. We need resources to build protective barriers around the nurseries,” she notes, adding that in 2019 alone, Ms. Abdi and her team lost more than 7,000 seedlings to animal invasions.
Full plate
Ms. Abdi’s activism extends beyond making Kismayo greener – she also campaigns for sustainable solutions for the country’s producers, including farmers, fishers, and pastoralists, and for women’s full inclusion in society, especially its decision-making processes.
In 2022, she was appointed chairwoman of the Kismayo Women Association by Jubaland’s Ministry of Women, Family Affairs and Human Rights in recognition of her community work.
“By understanding the underlying reasons why people rely on charcoal, we can effectively curb deforestation and foster economic and environmental resilience for future generations,” she says.
On women’s participation and inclusion, Ms. Abdi has advocated locally for greater political representation.
“Women struggle to access political office due to systemic and cultural barriers. But no one will do it for us unless we act ourselves,” says Ms. Abdi, who has also taken part in United Nations-backed training on related issues.
In September 2024, she participated in a United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) capacity-building programme designed for leaders of civil society organisations in the country’s Federal Member States. The training provided in-depth knowledge of various electoral systems and their impact on women’s participation and representation.
“Despite the decrease in funding for women’s empowerment programmes due to the withdrawal of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other factors, we refuse to abandon our work,” Ms. Abdi says. “Whether supported or not, we remain committed to uplifting and advocating for the women of Kismayo, because they deserve better.”
UN support
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), an estimated 8.2 million trees were cut down for charcoal in Somalia between 2011 and 2017.
As a result, forests in Somalia have been depleted to such an extent that the livelihoods of the population have been severely impacted. Widespread deforestation has also led to land degradation, food insecurity and increased vulnerability to flooding and drought.
The cost of deforestation and land degradation associated with charcoal production alone has been estimated at $216 million.
UNEP is working with the Somali government and other partners to enhance environmental sustainability, promote biodiversity conservation, and strengthen climate resilience, including through initiatives related to the National Transformation Plan.
And UN environment officials are in no doubt as to the importance of the work carried out by Ms. Abdi and her team of volunteers.
“Fatuma’s grassroots leadership exemplifies the true spirit of climate resilience in Somalia. By combining environmental stewardship with women’s empowerment and peacebuilding, she is not just planting trees – she is planting hope,” says the UN Climate Security and Environmental Advisor for Somalia, Christophe Hodder.
“Her work aligns perfectly with Somalia’s vision for climate action under the National Transformation Plan, demonstrating how local action can drive national and global impact,” he adds. “These are the voices and initiatives we must amplify and support if we are serious about building a greener, safer, and more inclusive future.”
