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The European Commission (EC) said on Thursday it had approved a €3.5-million (US $4,666,550) grant to fund initiatives aimed at improving water and land policies in Somalia, and supporting projects promoting sustainable use of natural resources in that country.
The Somalia Water and Land Information Systems is mainly intended to help vulnerable people in both rural and urban areas, and will be implemented by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, a statement issued by the EC said.
"Often, appropriate emergency and longer-term responses to extreme weather conditions and to increased levels of food insecurity [in Somalia], and rural poverty are hampered by the lack of readily available, structured information on natural resources, and in particular, water and land resources," the EC said.
"The European Commission has therefore decided to provide financial support to the Somalia Water and Land Information Systems initiative, which is to strengthen the capacities of Somali institutions and other important stakeholders on the understanding of water and land issues," it added.
The initiative will work in close collaboration with Somali institutions, the UN Children's Fund - a partner and co-founder of the scheme - the EC-funded Food Security Analysis Unit and agencies that are organised under the Somalia Aid Coordination Body.
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