Eco-Warriors: Fatima Jibrell

Episode Summary

Fatima Jibrell grew up in Somalia as part of a pastoralist family. As a young girl, she herded goats in the country's savanna lands. She moved to the United States for high school and college before returning to Somalia as a young woman. There, she married a diplomat and lived abroad before eventually settling in the U.S. where she earned her master's degree. When civil war broke out in Somalia in 1991, Jibrell felt compelled to help. She returned to Somalia and founded the organization Horn Relief (now called ADESO) which aimed to support peace through community environmental initiatives. Seeing how war and climate change were turning Somalia's lush savannas into deserts, Jibrell focused on fighting the rampant charcoal trade which was decimating ancient trees. Through advocacy and education campaigns, Jibrell successfully lobbied for a ban on charcoal exports in Somalia, decreasing the trade by 80%. Jibrell has been recognized for her activism, receiving the UN Environmental Program's Champions of the Earth award in 2014. Though she retired from ADESO in 2013, her efforts led to real change in Somalia's conservation efforts.

Episode Show Notes

Fatima Jibrell (1947-present) is a prominent Somali environmental activist. In the wake of her country’s devastating civil war, she founded a non-profit focused on protecting its pastoral land. She has been a strong proponent of community-driven change as a method for tackling climate change.

Episode Transcript

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Part therapy, part confessional, it's a podcast about talking it out to understand each other. Find Conversations with People Who Hate Me wherever you get your podcasts. SPEAKER_07: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm environmental activist, Erin Brockovich. This is Womanic. This month, we're highlighting eco warriors, women fighting for conservation and ecological justice. Today, we're talking about a woman who is a prominent environmental activist in Somalia. In wake of her country's devastating civil war, she founded a nonprofit focused on protecting its pastoral land. She has been a strong proponent of community driven change as a method for tackling climate change. Let's talk about Fatima Jibril. Fatima Jibril was born on December 30th, 1947 in Sanag, Somalia. She grew up in a pastoralist family whose way of life revolved around raising livestock. At a young age, Fatima began herding baby goats with her cousins. Her family lived in Savannah land with tall lush grasses. Often her parents worried about her wandering into the grasslands for fear that she might end up face to face with a lion. Fatima moved to the United States when she was in high school after her father settled there working as a merchant marine. She also completed an undergraduate degree in the United States. As a young woman, Fatima returned to Somalia and met a diplomat, Abdul Rahman Mohamud Ali, whom she married. Fatima first moved with her husband to Iraq where he was stationed for work. When he was sent to the United States, Fatima joined him there too. During this time, she earned her master's degree in social work from the University of Connecticut. While Fatima was studying in the United States, chaos was brewing in her home country. In 1991, after the ousting of then president, Syed Barre, civil war broke out in Somalia. Fatima felt compelled to take action. The fighting destroyed the agricultural sector of Somalia and hundreds of thousands of its citizens starved. In the early 1990s, Fatima returned to Somalia and founded an organization called Horn Relief, now known under the name ADESO or African Development Solutions. The aim was to support peace through community-based environmental initiatives. Having grown up at a time when livestock was Somalia's principal export, Fatima saw how war and climate change were ravaging the landscape. The lush savanna land was becoming a dusty desert. One cause behind this change was charcoal production. In the years following the outset of the civil war, livestock was on the decline as an export while charcoal was in high demand in the Gulf countries. As charcoal production picked up, logging companies began decimating the ancient Acacia tree. Fatima and her organization made it their mission to train youth to launch education campaigns. They taught local Somalians about the environmental harm caused by charcoal production. With ADESO, she organized a peaceful march in Puntland, a Northeastern state in Somalia, advocating to end the so-called charcoal wars. The combination of her advocacy and education efforts led to a ban on charcoal exports in Puntland, subsequently decreasing exports by 80%. By 2012, Somalia had banned the export of charcoal throughout the country, though an illegal trade still exists. Fatima's environmental activism has led to real change in Somalia, but the stakes remain high. In an interview with NPR, Fatima said, "'Maybe the land, a piece of desert called Somalia, will exist on the map of the world, but Somalis cannot survive.'" In 2014, Fatima was awarded the UN Environmental Program Champions of the Earth Award for her fight against the charcoal trade. She officially retired from ADESO in 2013, and her daughter, Dagan Ali, has since become the Executive Director of the organization. All month, we're highlighting eco-warriors. 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