Successful CBA/LLA Practice from My Community (Somalia)
A successful Community-Based Adaptation practice in my community is community-led water harvesting and rangeland management in drought-prone pastoral areas of Somalia. This initiative addresses the growing challenge of recurrent drought, water scarcity, livestock loss, and food insecurity, which are intensified by climate change and erratic rainfall.
Local people — especially elders, women, and youth — were actively involved in planning water catchments, rehabilitating berkads (traditional water reservoirs), protecting grazing zones, and developing seasonal grazing agreements. Community committees managed resources and resolved conflicts, ensuring local ownership and sustainability.
The initiative has improved water access, livestock survival, food security, and social cohesion, while reducing displacement and conflict over resources. Women benefited through reduced water collection burdens and improved household resilience.
Traditional practices such as rotational grazing, seasonal migration routes, rainwater harvesting, and community drought early warning based on indigenous indicators (wind patterns, livestock behavior, vegetation cycles) remain relevant today. While some are declining due to urbanization and external aid dependence, they remain highly effective when combined with modern climate data and governance structures.
These practices are deeply tied to Somali culture, pastoral identity, and collective resource stewardship. Under the Locally-Led Adaptation framework, they can be strengthened by direct financing to communities, participatory governance, capacity building, and integration with early warning systems and climate services.
Barriers include weak policy support, insecurity, climate finance access gaps, youth migration, and erosion of traditional knowledge. However, NGO-led climate resilience programs and youth environmental movements have successfully integrated traditional practices with modern adaptation approaches — demonstrating that locally rooted solutions are among the most powerful tools for climate resilience.