Additionally, overfishing caused by a lack of government surveillance and foreign exploitation of Somali waters encourages piracy and terrorist activities along with exacerbating natural habitat destruction and climate change.
[2] Soils are particularly prone to erosion in the East African Savanna as they are predominantly sands, sandy loams or black cracking clays that have a weak structural stability.
[4] Agronomic practices such as the burning of animal manure and a general lack of soil and water conservation are major causes of the poor agricultural productivity of Somalia.
[10] However, weak governance, lack of infrastructure and illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing by foreign countries have impeded Somali efforts to take full advantage of the economic potential of these resources.
[11] In Somalia and Tanzania, illegal trawlers “deploy giant, non-selective nets, wiping out entire schools of tuna, including the young ones, which they discard dead, ruining the marine ecosystem and contributing to climate change.
[12] Overfishing can have a range of impacts on the environment upsetting the delicate balance of marine food webs, ruining local economies, and leading ultimately to climate change as our oceans warm.
[14] The unique combination of rich fishing opportunities and a complete inability of the government to police its waters drew fleets from many countries, causing even further instability in the region.
[10] Though overfishing is not the sole cause of the increase in Somali piracy, it is undeniable that the pillaging of local fish populations, largely by foreign vessels, played a key role.