Durable solutions to Somaliland’s displacement crisis will require support for pastoralists

Climate change has severely impacted rural livelihoods in Somaliland, especially for pastoralists, resulting in widespread displacement. Consecutive droughts have decimated water sources and rangelands, leading to massive livestock losses and contributing to a growing displacement crisis. Over half a million people now live in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, most of them pastoralists. This policy brief argues that finding durable solutions to Somaliland’s displacement crisis requires increased support for pastoralists. In the following, we provide recommendations for policies that strengthen and sustain pastoral livelihoods in the face of these challenges. Such strategies must be informed by an understanding of how the impacts of climate change are deeply intertwined with pre-existing vulnerabilities in the pastoral sector. This is also significant, as pastoralist livestock production systems are a key pillar of the Somaliland economy, supporting most of the population.