On 29th August 2021, Barwaaqo Voluntary Organization with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development organized a launched the first Somaliland Botanic Garden in Geed-deeble village 25 kilometers north Hargeisa and participated His Excellency, Mr. Abdirahman Salici- Vice President of Somaliland Republic, Ministers of Finance, Environment, Planning, Information, Water Development, Marodijeh regional governor, General Manager of Hargeisa Water Agency, District Commissioner of Darasalam, UN Agency representative, INGOs, NGOs, and Bussiness groups.
The First the Chairperson of Barwaaqo Voluntary Organization (BVO) Mrs. Khadra Omer Hassan welcomed all guests from Government, Diplomatic offices, UN agencies, International and local Organizations, Local Communities, Business Groups, Academia, and Research Companies to the event. She gave appreciation for their time and how they accepted to travel from Hargeisa to Gedeeble. She also gave special thanks to the Vice President His Excellency, Mr. Abdirham O. Abdillahi ( Saylici), and his cabinet Minister for their time.
After that, she spoke about the history of Geed-deeble Botanic Garden and she stated that it took years to conclude the idea of having a national botanic garden in Somaliland. It started a discussion with the regional environment protection group, donor, and Somaliland Government. She did a lot of meetings to get acceptance from donors to start this garden. Fortunately, she got a green light in 2019 when the regional environment team asked her to get formal title deeds from relevant government Institutions which she had secured in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development, President of Somaliland Republic His Excellency Mr. Muse Bihi. Mrs. Khadra explained the map of the Geed-deeble Botanic garden and its structure including different types of gardens within the map like medicine garden, school children garden, rock garden, plant seed threatened garden, nursery e.t.c. She has also mentioned that this garden will revive the tourism history of Somaliland as it will become the biggest botanic garden in the region. “This garden will collect all plant seeds from every region of Somaliland and it will become a tourist place for urban people so that they enjoy nature during their free time”. As reported by Khadra Omer- BVO chair-lady She had also clearly mentioned that private hotels, houses, or any individual properties are not allowed to build in the garden. In the next 10 years, there is a clear plan if all stakeholders work together, and use the instructions from the baseline assessment report, implementation plan, and the garden design.
The Minister of Finance Development DR.Sa’ad Ali Shire has voiced serious worry about environmental devastation, stating that natural resources, whether living or non-living, play an important role in human life. He also mentioned that Somaliland is rich in natural vegetation and wild creatures. He added his speech with a very good note by saying” As A government of Somaliland, we need to establish a pool of funds for environmental protection to properly finance environmental issues, we can get that money from tax revenue from fuel or similar products”. That is a possible solution for developing the environment.
The minister of Planning and national development Hon. Hasan Gafadhi welcomed the botanic garden initiative, emphasizing the importance of the environment and environmental conservation. He further stated that this project will help to advance the national development plan in the environmental sector. We need to support and put our hands together so that we get a clean and safe environment. He thanked to BVO chair Mrs. Khadra for her contribution to this botanic garden, the Donor agency, and the Somaliland government especially Minister of Environment and Rural Development Hon Shukri.
The General Manager of Hargeisa Water Agency Mohamed Ali Darood welcomed all guests including senior Government officials as he is the responsible person for all water-related activities in this district. He explained the Hargeisa Water Agency’s commitments to this botanic garden and he said we shall contribute our part by providing water to the garden since we have big wells near the garden. We also assigned security personnel for this garden to protect its plants, wild animals, and land.
The Minister of Environment and Rural Development Mrs. Shukri H. Ismail Bandare started with appreciation to all guests including the Vice President of SL. She also told that the Somaliland Republic is in very tight competition with other African Countries and it was visible today because this is the largest botanic garden in the horn of Africa. The Minister has shared the history of this village and garden and how it became a government land. She also added that they would contribute technically in collaboration with BVO.
His Excellency Mr. Abdirahman Saylici– Vice President of Somaliland Republic has officially opened the event and welcomed BVO and all other stakeholders, Community members who attend the event. He also thanked the donor agency for this botanic innovative intervention. The V president reported that his government has donated the land and provided legal documents for the garden. He also added that they would continue supporting this garden to become of the best and biggest in Africa. “We are in a competing with other three countries in Africa, we need to see ours become one of best botanic garden with all required input and features. In his remarks, Somaliland’s vice president, Abdirahman Saylici, noted that this is the third location to be implemented in the Horn of Africa. He also expressed confidence that Somaliland will lead the region in providing a better and cleaner environment in the next years.
Finally, Mrs. Khadra (BVO chair) presented the map of the garden and its content briefly, Then all guests/ visitors walked through the garden and learned different species of plants, rocks, and also the history of the garden from BVO’s technical team. They have also watched the beautiful pictures from the garden and feasibility study done by the experts from Addis Ababa University, University of Hargeisa & Technical teams from the Somaliland Ministry of Environment and Rural Development. The BVO chair and her team thanked to all participants and higher-level delegations from Government, Diplomatic offices (Thailand) and UN Agency & INGOs, representatives, Community members, and University heads.