Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Restoration Project

October 10, 2026
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Project Start Date: April 2026

Project End Date: March 2032

Description:

The “Conserving Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity and Restoring Ecosystem Services in Globally Relevant and Vulnerable Sites in Somalia” project aims to strengthen Somalia’s capacity to conserve biodiversity, establish and improve protected areas, restore degraded ecosystems, and promote sustainable, community-led management of terrestrial and marine natural resources.

The project responds to Somalia’s significant biodiversity challenges, including habitat degradation, unsustainable use of natural resources, climate change, land degradation, weak protected-area governance, and limited institutional and technical capacity for biodiversity conservation.

The project is implemented through three strategically linked components, which contribute to the overall goal of strengthening Somalia’s systems for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. The expected outcomes are:

Strengthened federal and state-level policy, legal and institutional frameworks for effective management of terrestrial and marine protected areas.
Improved management and establishment of selected terrestrial and marine protected areas, with clearly defined boundaries, management plans and strengthened institutional and community capacity.
Restored degraded ecosystems and strengthened nature-based livelihoods, while improving biodiversity monitoring, knowledge management and community participation in conservation.

The project adopts a community-led and participatory approach, bringing together federal and state institutions, local communities, traditional and religious leaders, civil society, technical institutions and development partners. It promotes inclusive and gender-responsive approaches to protected-area governance and integrates statutory, customary and community-based systems into conservation and co-management arrangements.

The project will support the establishment and improved management of 11 proposed terrestrial and marine protected areas, alongside ecosystem restoration, biodiversity monitoring, capacity development, knowledge management and sustainable nature-based livelihood opportunities.

The project is aligned with Somalia’s national biodiversity and environmental priorities and contributes to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Sustainable Development Goals and other relevant global environmental commitments.

Outputs / Activities / Components:

Component One: Strengthened Policy, Legal and Institutional Frameworks for Protected Areas

This component focuses on strengthening the enabling environment for effective biodiversity conservation and protected-area management at federal and state levels.

Key activities include:

Comprehensive review of existing legal, policy, institutional and land-tenure frameworks.
Identification of policy and legislative gaps affecting biodiversity conservation and protected-area management.
Development and harmonisation of gender-responsive biodiversity policies, laws and institutional frameworks.
Development of a cohesive national and sub-national protected-area strategy.
Development of sustainable financing and financial-management mechanisms for protected areas.
Strengthening institutional and technical capacities of MoECC and Federal Member States.
Training government personnel on protected-area planning, biodiversity assessment and the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT).

Component Two: Establishment and Improved Management of Terrestrial and Marine Protected Areas

This component supports the establishment, legal recognition and effective management of selected protected areas.

Key activities include:

Participatory ecological gap assessments.
Biodiversity and spatial assessments.
Stakeholder consultations for PA boundary delineation and management.
Development and implementation of gender-sensitive protected-area management plans.
Strengthening community management structures and park management capacity.
Development of conservation infrastructure and management systems.
Biodiversity monitoring and management-effectiveness assessments.
Strengthening community participation and co-management arrangements.
Integration of statutory, customary and religious governance systems into protected-area management.

The project will focus on 11 proposed terrestrial and marine protected areas, representing important ecosystems and biodiversity values across Somalia.

Component Three: Ecosystem Restoration, Sustainable Livelihoods and Biodiversity Knowledge

This component focuses on restoring degraded ecosystems, strengthening community resilience and promoting sustainable nature-based livelihoods.

Key activities include:

Restoration of degraded terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
Assisted natural regeneration and restoration using appropriate native species.
Restoration of priority forest, rangeland, coastal, mangrove and other vulnerable ecosystems.
Promotion of nature-based livelihood opportunities for local communities.
Development of community-led conservation and restoration initiatives.
Strengthening biodiversity monitoring and data collection.
Development of a national biodiversity knowledge-management platform and GIS system.
Documentation and dissemination of biodiversity knowledge, lessons learned and best practices.
Strengthening awareness and communication on biodiversity conservation and sustainable natural-resource management.

Key Expected Results

The project is expected to contribute to:

Strengthened national and sub-national biodiversity governance.
Improved legal and institutional frameworks for protected-area management.
Establishment and improved management of 11 terrestrial and marine protected areas.
Restoration of degraded ecosystems.
Increased community participation in biodiversity conservation.
Improved biodiversity monitoring and knowledge management.
Strengthened technical capacity of government institutions.
Increased opportunities for sustainable, nature-based livelihoods.
Improved gender-responsive and inclusive conservation governance.

Development partner