National Parks
Djibouti's biodiversity, like that of the Horn of Africa, is fragile and threatened. In order to protect the species, the country has banned hunting - including underwater hunting - throughout its territory.
Day Forest National Park : located west of the Gulf of Tadjourah, it shelters the relics of a primary forest composed mainly of African juniper(Juniperus procera) and threatened with extinction. It has a unique biodiversity of flora and fauna, including an endemic species of bird, the Djibouti francolin.
Moucha and Maskali Islands : located off the Gulf of Tadjourah, they have an exceptional biodiversity, including an endemic species, the white iris gull, and beautiful landscapes, mangroves and sandy beaches. The seabed is very rich with coral gardens and many species of fish. If the south of Maskali constitutes a natural reserve and the two islands are part of a protected marine area, the wild deposit of waste is sometimes noted there, and these spaces are coveted by foreign investors. The traveller visiting these islands will be invited to the greatest respect of the living (via for example a "zero waste" approach, or the use of sun creams without chemical filters, these having harmful effects on the corals).
Threats to the Red Sea
The Red Sea is rich in biodiversity with over 200 species of coral and an extremely varied fauna. A narrow strip of land bordered by eight countries, this fragile environment is home to one of the world's most important maritime trade routes, via the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. This activity poses a threat to the ecosystems, particularly through the emptying of the various tanks of ships into the sea (ballast tanks which contain seawater pumped from another region and which, when spilled, can unbalance local ecosystems, or mud tanks, which, through their discharge into the sea, contribute to the contamination of the environment).
The Red Sea is also subject to a major threat, a real sword of Damocles hanging over it since 2015. This is an oil tanker - the Safer -, immobilized in Yemeni waters by the rebel faction of the Houthis, and which threatens to spill more than a million barrels, or more than 160 million liters of oil, into the Red Sea due to its obsolescence. The situation is bogged down without any solution being found, despite the intervention of the UN in the summer of 2020. The spill or explosion of the cargo could cause extremely serious damage to marine biodiversity. In addition, the lack of wastewater and waste treatment infrastructure, together with the increase in flows (linked to population growth), is contributing to the pollution of the Red Sea, with health and environmental impacts.The issue of water resources and climate change
Water resources are scarce in the country and groundwater is insufficient to meet the country's growing needs, which have tripled in the last thirty years due to population growth and urbanisation. This state of water stress is a threat to the supply of drinking water to the population, but also to agriculture and livestock farming. Climate change is accentuating periods of drought, accelerating the country's desertification and raising the spectre of food insecurity in a country that is already suffering from malnutrition. Global warming is also contributing to rising sea levels and temperatures, which will accelerate coastal erosion and the decline of biodiversity. It also contributes to the establishment of disease-carrying species, such as theAnopheles stephensi, a mosquito native to Asia that has been identified in Djibouti since 2012 and is causing a resurgence of malaria in the country.
Action on climate change
Djibouti has signed the Paris Agreements, which aim to limit the increase in temperature to +2°C by the end of the century, compared to the pre-industrial period. To this end, the country has undertaken actions to mitigate global warming, with an ambitious programme aiming for a 100% renewable energy mix by 2025 through the production of renewable energy: solar, wind and especially geothermal, thanks to the potential of the country's subsoil.
Measures to adapt to climate change have also been put in place to promote food resilience, with local agriculture and livestock farming using small herds that are well fed and watered locally. This includes the construction of boreholes and dykes for irrigation and watering of livestock, training for farmers, rehabilitation of agricultural land and reforestation projects. In order to preserve groundwater, desalination and wastewater treatment plants have been set up in Djibouti, with the treated water being reused for agriculture. Environmental awareness among the population should be developed. We all have a role to play in the fight against climate change. In France, achieving carbon neutrality means reducing our emissions to 2 tons ofCO2 equivalent per inhabitant, which requires both individual and collective action.A great green wall from Dakar to Djibouti
The project was initially launched in 2007 to combat desertification. It has grown over the years and now aims, beyond reforestation, to implement actions in conjunction with local populations, over a 100 km strip from Dakar to Djibouti. Only 4 million hectares - out of the more than 11 million hectares of the project - were completed by early 2021. Relaunched during the One Planet Summit in January 2021, the project is facing a lack of funding but also the sometimes sensitive situation (conflicts) of the countries it crosses.
