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Merca, Lower Shabelle, Somalia
2021 - 2023
Short description
The overarching goal of the project is to reduce inter-communal conflict over natural resources in Marka District by supporting young people and women from the Biyomal and Habargidir sub-clans to lead the development of inclusive and participatory resource management mechanism and governance systems.
In terms of process, the project: (a) facilitates the youth-led joint prioritization of water and canal infrastructure via gamification: using a basic mobile application and feedback mechanism (developed by FAO in coordination with IOM) to generate healthy competition between mixed clan groups of young people from four Youth and Women Associations that span the canal network, who enter a challenge to rank public works according to peacebuilding potential and inclusivity. The feedback is channelled to an online platform operated by a Somali NGO for monitoring the challenge in real time. (b) The Associations then merge and divide themselves into mixed and inclusive teams to develop proposals for the top priorities together with local irrigation committees and farmer cooperatives
Main purpose
Reducing competition for natural resources,
Increasing community cohesion / community building,
Entry point for dialogue and mediation between conflicting groups
Other expected benefits
Reduced environmental degradation from sustainable resource use,
Climate adaptation / resilience
Conflict context
The region’s proximity to Mogadishu and the fertile agricultural lands of the Shabelle River floodplains endow the district of Marka with significant strategic and socio-economic potential, including for sustainable livelihoods. However, this potential has not been realized due to continuous territorial competition between a range of stakeholders since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991. Throughout the 1990s, pastoralists from central Somalia migrated to the Shabelle River and urban areas in the region. Powerful occupying clans (farac) exploited the region’s instability and seized land from weaker indigenous clans (asal) and cultivator communities. In Marka District, this dynamic was most acutely manifested by an intractable dispute between the Habargidir and the Biyomal sub-clans of the Hawiye and Dir clan families, respectively. Until 2019, these groups engaged in calculated hedging strategies, forging opportunistic alliances with both AS and the government, which resulted in deep-seated mistrust, regular eruptions of severe violence, mass displacement, and the complete degradation of the agricultural sector.
Peace and security contributions
The project has facilitated collaborative efforts by young people in the Marka district to address inter-communal
and inter-clan tensions surrounding water management. Through inclusive dialogue platforms and participatory
processes, the project has so far helped to foster trust, cooperation, and understanding among the two main
villages of Shamabod and Buufow. Young people between the two villages have been the main focus and are actively
engaged in the project, allowing their voices to be heard and ensuring that their perspectives are now beginning to
be incorporated into community asset management. This collaborative approach has helped to reduce the potential
for tensions and disputes, leading to more harmonious relationships and cooperation among communities in the
district.
Reported elements of good practices
- The transparency employed by the project teams regarding the benefits envisioned in the project, and how/why peace dividends will be distributed evenly to benefit all communities equally, has established trust in IOM and FAO.
- The design of the project envisioned active participation of young people and women. The targeting process was consultative to ensure that not only conflicting groups, but also minority groups in hard-to-reach areas, were included as active participants.
Reported challenges
There was no interaction of people from Buufow and Shalambod and no movement of people and goods between the two communities for the last eight years. This hindered access to key natural resources, such as water, also for internally displaced persons.
Practical details of implementation
- The consultation process has taken different approaches, including community discussions, discussions with youth- led and women- led CSOs, assessments that included both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection, discussions in government- led fora, and discussions between FAO and IOM.
- At least 30 percent of participants in all activities are women.
- The project supports young people and women led CSOs (a minimum of 40% of the total members are young women) to lead in conflict resolution and mitigation by amplifying their voices in leadership platforms.
Method of monitoring environmental and peace impacts
- The environmental impact was not monitored.
- Monitoring tools to be used include qualitative tools such as process analysis surveys, pre- and post-training evaluation forms, questionnaire surveys, reflection sheet with mood metre methodology, group thought survey, scoring method survey, pre- and post- questionnaire surveys, amongst others.
- All implementing partners will follow ethical considerations (including ‘do no harm’) before, during and after data collection.
- All reports will ensure that data is non-identifiable
