The East African Community Partner States were instructed to enforce applicable legislation on February 10, 2020,[1] in order to essentially outlaw the production and use of plastic carrier bags with immediate effect. Somalia implements this decision to ban plastic bags in less than three months after the accession of the East African treaty on 15th December, 2023 at Entebbe, Uganda.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change released a directive on 1st February-2024 stating that the country will cease using single-use plastic by June 30, 2024, granting a five-month extension for users and importers.
The Federal Ministry of Environment was the first to issue a directive. It banned single-use plastics in the Country. According to a directive stated that ‘‘all business owners who import bags, as well as manufacturers, retailers and commercial establishments within the country are hereby notified starting on June 30, 2024, it will be illegal to import and use single-use bags.’’ Officials in Somalia say approximately One million metric tons of plastic materials are unloaded annually from the port of Mogadishu, most of which are not used more than once, harming the environment, animal and human health. In addition, the Ministry, called on business and entrepreneurs across the country to develop Eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags.
Previously, the Federal Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Somalia banned single-use water bottle in its own offices and departmental directors and ordered staff members to carry out their drinking water battles which subsequently distributed to all workers at the Ministry.
Nonetheless, Somalia does not provide any thickness threshold and material composition or production volume limits of allowable plastic bags but banned all single use of plastic bags for example Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania prohibits plastic bags that are less than 30 microns.
Plastic Regulatory Framework in Somalia
Regulatory effectiveness is a critical measure for assessing whether laws are working and determining necessary adjustments. However, there must be a need to go beyond current commitment to manage plastics along the entire lifecycle. Projections show 5 trillion bags are used annually in a second, that is 160,000! To put that into perspective, they would go around the world 7 times every hour and cover an area twice the size of Somalia.
- The Constitution of Somalia 2012: The right to a healthy environment has gained constitutional recognition and protection in Somalia. Article 45 of The constitution provides that the Federal Government shall give priority to the protection, conservation, and preservation of the environment against anything that may cause harm to natural biodiversity and the ecosystem. In recognizing and adhering the constitution as a matter of principle, every person (s) should contribute a clean environment including to avoid plastic bags. Article 45 (2) specifically deals with the fundamental duty with respect to environment. It says. It shall be duty to all people in the Federal Republic of Somalia to safeguard and enhance the environment and participate in the development, execution, management, conservation and protection of the natural resources and environment.[2]
- Environmental Protection and Management Bill- 2023: Environment was defined Environmental Protection and Management Bill. denotes everything that surrounds us, including the land, water, air, weather, sound, smell, and taste as well as the natural environment and man-made, animals and plants. Article 71 of the Environmental Protection and Management Bill forbids light-weight single-use plastic bags because of the harm they do to the environment.
Lastly, in Somalia there is currently no effective legislation which prohibits the use, manufacture and importation of plastic bags, even in the country’s constitution which has become a challenge for the citizen in its various aspects since it remained provisional in 2012. The Ministerial decree released by Environment and Climate Change also provides a five-month grace period as discussed above.
Single use plastic ban will require alternative solutions like cloth and jute carry bags, utensil banks, recycled paper, clay, glass, biodegradable single use material and most of all Awareness Campaigns by Non-profits/NGO to raise consciousness about environment protection and improvement.
[1] Uganda 2007, Rwanda 2008, South Sudan 2015, Kenya 2017, Congo since 2018, Tanzania 2019, Burundi 2020 and Somalia 2024
[2] In Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra v. State of UP[iii] Justice R.N. Mishra opined that “preservation of the environment and keeping the ecological balance unaffected is a task which not only the government but also every citizen must undertake. It is a social obligation and let us remind every Indian citizen that it is his fundamental duty as enshrined in Article 51-A(g) of the Constitution”.
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