Bolognesi M., Vrieling A., Rembold F., Gadain H.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM) Project, P.O. Box 30470-00100, Nairobi, Kenya; Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, AE Enschede, Netherlands; Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, MARS Unit, Via Fermi 2749 TP. 266, Ispra (VA), Italy
Bolognesi, M., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM) Project, P.O. Box 30470-00100, Nairobi, Kenya, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, AE Enschede, Netherlands; Vrieling, A., Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, AE Enschede, Netherlands; Rembold, F., Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, MARS Unit, Via Fermi 2749 TP. 266, Ispra (VA), Italy; Gadain, H., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM) Project, P.O. Box 30470-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Following more than 20years of civil unrest, environmental information for southern Somalia is scarce. Wood charcoal production and export is a major activity supporting war regimes in this area such as the extreme Islamist group Al-Shabaab. However, little quantitative information exists on the extent of this charcoal production. In this study, we developed a semi-automatic detection method to identify charcoal production sites from very high resolution (0.5m) satellite imagery. We then applied it to a 4700km2 area along the Juba River in southern Somalia using 2011 and 2013 WorldView-1 imagery. Based on the sites detected exclusively for 2013 we estimated an average production of 24,000tonnes of charcoal and 2.7% tree loss for the two-year interval, using literature- and local-knowledge-based assumptions on likely ranges of kiln and tree parameters. Our large-area assessment helps to better understand the dimension and impact of charcoal production in southern Somalia and reveals a rapid depletion of tree cover. The analysis provides a first step towards the development of a charcoal production monitoring system that could be extended to other parts of the country. © 2015 International Energy Initiative.