Scaling the Fight Against Desertification in Puntland

For three consecutive years, Samofal DDD’s Youth Forest Guardians initiatives have proven a powerful, simple truth: when young Somalis are given a viable economic alternative to the charcoal trade, they will choose to protect their land rather than strip it.

Now, that hard-won lesson is evolving from a series of short-term projects into a permanent, standing pillar of the organization: Combating Desertification.

A Permanent Commitment to the Land

In the past, land restoration efforts often operated as time-bound, temporary grant cycles. Moving forward, Samofal DDD—operating as a UNCCD-accredited civil society organization—is formalizing this work as an ongoing institutional priority.

This new pillar brings together three core, interconnected strategies under one umbrella:

• Restoring Degraded Land: Active rehabilitation projects targeting damaged plots across the Puntland Regions.

• Rebuilding Woodland Cover: Expansive tree-planting campaigns that go beyond mere protection to actively replace what has been lost.

• Providing Economic Off-Ramps: Community training focused on practical alternatives to charcoal production, giving at-risk youth and households a durable, sustainable way to make a living.

Built on Real-World Experience

This region-wide expansion doesn't rely on guesswork. It draws directly from the on-the-ground successes and lessons of Samofal DDD’s previous cycles, including Ember to Earth, Green Hands Rising, and Roots of Resilience.

Through these initiatives, the team learned that lasting change requires securing deep buy-in from community elders before a single training session begins. Above all, the organization's core philosophy anchors every new intervention: families facing intense economic pressure to produce charcoal will generally only stop when they are offered a credible substitute income, not simply when they are asked to stop.

"Desertification isn't solved by one grant cycle or one donor. It's solved by making land restoration something the community owns permanently, not something that shows up for six months and leaves." — Samofal DDD Environmental Technical Team Member

Looking Ahead

As this pillar scales, Samofal DDD is actively working to extend its land restoration and tree-planting activities beyond its original footprint in the Puntland Regions. At the same time, the organization is deepening its engagement with UNCCD drylands policy, ensuring that the results achieved on the ground in Puntland help shape broader regional and national conversations on land degradation neutrality.