Inside Somalia’s vicious cycle of deforestation for charcoal

As gas prices rise Somalis are turning to the affordable energy source, driving unsustainable logging - as al-Shabaab condemns but profits from the trade

In Mogadishu, the charcoal trade is thriving on the city's streets, prompted by the sharp rise in gas prices over the past two years. As more Somalis turn to charcoal as an affordable energy option, experts say the growing demand is fuelling unsustainable levels of production and accelerating climate change amid the country's worst drought in four decades.

Environmentalists say the situation is acute in the Lower Shabelle region's Wanlaweyn district, the centre of the charcoal trade, about 55 miles (90km) north-west of the capital.