Toxic waste dumping is the story of Somalia’s coastal regions that have been braided with the dismal and terrible reality, which has left a path of ecological destruction and human misery in its wake. Along the nation’s neat coastline, where the Indian Ocean’s beauty once offered untold potential, there lies an undiscovered tragedy, one that is jeopardizing not only the vulnerable marine ecosystems but also the lives and livelihoods of the communities who have long relied on these waters.
The problem of toxic waste and Marine life in Somalia has grown into a grave environmental calamity. An environmental calamity that goes well beyond the sea’s bounds has been sparked by the illicit disposal of dangerous chemicals, which is frequently planned by dishonest people trying to get around strict rules elsewhere.
Toxic waste dumping in Somalia
Since the fall of the Mohamed Siad Barre military regime in 1991, reports of toxic waste dumping in Somali waters have been going around. However, due to Somalia’s broad lawlessness and lack of an operating central government, there hasn’t been extensive study done on the toxic waste origin and its effects on the communities that live along its 3,300 km coastline.
Yet, the concern resurfaced in 2004 after a tsunami wave swept up hazardous waste containers in Southern Somalia. Radioactive substances and toxic trash containing hydrogen peroxide were discovered in several sites throughout Southern and Central Somalia, according to a study from the local humanitarian organization Common Community Care in 2006.
According to Common Community Care (CCC), at places where containers were discovered, a number of unverified fishermen passed away due to medical issues. Locals in the Lower Shabelle region’s Barava district talked about unexpected deaths and skin rashes. Many fish were reported dead by communities.
Research in the 1990s connected the disposal of toxic waste to front firms in Europe to the Italian mafia; this assertion was made again in 2012, and the European Union was reportedly looking into it. The majority of the debris, according to a 2005 United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) report, has been deposited on seashores in wasteful barrels with leaks and containers.
There have been estimates of as many as 35 million tons of toxic garbage being dumped in Somalia, with just two transactions accounting for 10 million tons. These include medical waste, industrial waste, chemical waste, and nuclear waste, which are the most dangerous of them to both human and marine life.
Somalia is still struggling with a number of other issues while its conflict with the insurgent group al-Shabaab drags on. The World Food Program, a division of the United Nations, has issued an alert that between April and June 2023, 6.5 million people will experience severe food insecurity, making this threat the most immediate. In the meantime, little focus is being paid to the environmental problems that have plagued Somalia for decades. They include unlawful dumping, which the nation fails to enforce since it is preoccupied with political turmoil.
Investigators from the nation’s environmental ministry reportedly conducted an investigation of metal barrels suspected of carrying toxic waste, according to the Somali National News Agency, a component of Somalia’s state media. Locals in the Middle Shabelle administration district of Somalia’s southern coast found the barrels on a beach, but the report offered few hints as to who abandoned the containers or what chemicals they contained.
We are left with a powerful and urgent call to action as a result of the horrific story of hazardous waste dumping and its disastrous effects on Somalia’s maritime ecosystems. It is blatantly obvious that the effects extend well beyond contaminated rivers; they also include destroyed livelihoods, harmed public health, and a severely degraded environment.
The fight Somalia is waging against the pernicious impacts of toxic waste dumping is not just a local issue; it is a worldwide necessity. It highlights the requirement for stricter international laws, more effective enforcement measures, and a shared commitment to environmental justice. The harm done to coastal areas and marine life serves as a sobering reminder of how interdependent ecosystems, economies, and society are.
