Somalia, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), and the United Nations together launched an initiative to save the environment and alleviate the effects of climate change on Monday, June 5.
Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia and head of ATMIS, Mohammed El-Amine Souef, stated that the African Union's mission is going to pursue planting roughly 30,000 trees to assist Somalia by turning it green by the end of 2024.
By the time of the projected withdrawal of AU soldiers at the end of next year, the project, which is in solidarity with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed's Regreening Somalia Initiative that kicked off in October 2022, would have planted these tens of thousands of trees around approximately 58 army bases.
Aisa Kacyira, the Assistant Secretary-General and head of the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), praised the UN's purposeful efforts to reduce plastic pollution in an effort to improve Somalia's environment.
Khadija Mohamed, the environment and climate change minister for Somalia, praised ATMIS and the UN for working together to help the country's efforts to safeguard the unique ecosystem.
The minister noted that Somalia's magnificent countryside, seas, cattle, and agriculture are a wonderful asset.
"But unfortunately, our ecosystem has been adversely affected by years of conflict," she stated. "We need to stand together and act to tame pollution and fight plastics."
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), is a many-faceted mission (military, police and civilian), approved by the African Union and the United Nations Security Council, which began operations on April 1, 2022.