World Ecology Day

  Somalia has consistently recorded the highest levels of food insecurity globally between 2019 and 2024. These persistently high levels reflect the interaction of ecological stress, climatic extremes, conflict and chronic governance gaps . Recurrent droughts, erratic rainfall, and flooding have disrupted ecosystems and livelihoods. This has been further aggravated by ongoing conflict since the late 1980s. Dependence on rain-fed agriculture and livestock leaves the country highly vulnerable to rainfall variability. Repeated climate shocks have reduced crop yields, undermined livestock health, and depleted water sources, heightening vulnerability among farming and pastoralist households. These pressures are compounded by conflict, displacement, and disrupted markets, all of which limit access to food and humanitarian aid. Conflict in Somalia has also accelerated environmental decline. For example, the country’s mostly arid rangelands and scrub-savanna rely on hardy acacia tree...

  The ETR food insecurity indicator measures the likelihood that people will have sufficient food, considering availability, accessibility, affordability, and the risks posed by conflict and violence to supply chains. The indicator examines both national conditions and subnational disparities, capturing overall food supply, household purchasing power, and the effects of inequality and conflict , which disrupt markets and restrict people’s ability to obtain food. As of 2024, the ETR identifies 208 subnational areas with very high levels of food insecurity and a further 696 with high risk levels, representing nearly a third of all subnational areas. Furthermore, around three billion people currently reside in medium risk areas, making up approximately 39 per cent of the global population.   Complementing these findings, the FAO estimates that between 638 and 720 million people experienced hunger in 2024, with the largest shares in Africa and Asia. Around 28 per cent of the glob...

Between 2019 and 2024, Eritrea recorded the largest improvement in water risk of any low-income country in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2019, it held the fourth worst water risk score globally; by 2024 it had improved to 25th. Although still classified as high risk, sustained government initiatives have expanded water access nationwide and reduced some exposure to water scarcity . In recent decades, access to safe drinking water has risen dramatically, from just 13% of the population in the early 1990s to nearly 85 per cent in 2024. More than half of schools now have access to drinking water and sanitation facilities, and infrastructure investment has expanded the number of dams from 138 in 1993 to nearly 800 today. A further 17 dam projects have been planned for the country, demonstrating the government’s continued commitment to improving water security . Despite these new dams, Eritrea remains heavily dependent on groundwater, which supplies freshwater for nearly 80 per cent of the popul...

  Issues related to water represent the key ecological challenge facing humanity , as from them flow a host of resource scarcity concerns. The ETR’s water risk indicator is defined as the reliability of access to safe drinking water, combining two measures: the proportion of the population with access to clean water and the frequency of extreme monthly rainfall deficits compared with historical averages. This approach captures both long-term levels of water access and susceptibility to short-term fluctuations in water availability. Water stress emerges from both environmental and human factors. Ecological conditions limit water availability through factors such as insufficient rainfall, seasonal variability in rainfall, or the occurrence of floods and droughts. These factors restrict communities’ capacities to meet water demands for agriculture, households, and manufacturing industries. Human and economic pressures can also give rise to scarcity, often due to inadequate water mana...