Eight Days with the UNDP in Djibouti on the Frontlines of Climate Change
A Collective Journalism Project to Spotlight Sustainability Needs and Initiatives
When the United Nations Development Programme invited me to Djibouti as an independent journalist, I was more than a little surprised, it’s not often an agency grants that level of transparency. When they trusted me to video everything from meetings to meals, I began questioning their sanity; my journalistic portfolio has not been kind to government agencies.
For eight days, I spent my waking moments with the UNDP mission to Djibouti (there was little time for sleep). I listened to them strategize over breakfast, recorded meetings with Ministries, and shared the weight of dead forests, plastic-covered mangroves, and disappearing species.
In an effort to share this story, I’ve embarked on a#collectivejournalism initiative, sharing brief videos of on-the-ground work in Djibouti with my community, and asking them to share with theirs. After the first few videos, I realized people want more information. Many asked how they could help Djibouti, or simply wanted to know more about the different Associations and projects in the region. To facilitate, I’ve decided to include brief blogs with each video, providing links that offer more clarity. This article will serve as a continuously updated home base for that information and is organized in the order in which the videos have been shared. You can view all the videos on YouTube here.
Video 1: Water
The Association featured in this video is part of the Afar Tribe, living in the Tadjourah region of Djibouti. They’ve worked with the UNDP in Djibouti to apply for and utilize grants from the UNDP and GEF (Global Environment Facility). For more information, you can visit
Perhaps we use the phrase, life-changing too often, but anything less would fall short. While the UNDP mission to Djibouti gathered in conference rooms, working to increase funding for projects like this, I had the opportunity to experience its impact. When women in the community told me that greater water access meant their families could return from the city, I had a glimpse of possibility and urgency all at once. We’re up against forced migration; the women I met deserve to keep their homes, be with their families, and preserve their chosen way of life.
Video 2: Agriculture and Access to Food
This video highlights the integrated nature of food availability. Djibouti faces many challenges, including access to both water and electricity. The country has a culture of deep water wells but finding and sourcing the water requires expertise. The Association worked with the UNDP and GEF to build wells. From there, they relied on microloans to purchase their first solar panel. Next, they used profits from the goods they sold to buy a second solar panel. Because of the length of the video, we cut some parts — like when the community leader, Mme Giniyo Said Chireh, insisted we’d eat mangos together on my next visit. What I’ll remember most is her insistence that they “bring up” other communities with them. We have a lot to learn from Djibouti.
You can learn more about the project at
Video 3: Renewable Energy
Djibouti contributes just 0.005% of global emissions; it’s our lights causing floods, not theirs. Despite this, they’re doing everything they can to mitigate climate change, including a 100% Djiboutian solar panel manufacturing company. That’s just one example of the focus on renewable energy. They have the talent and they have the will; they don’t have the funding.
Developed countries won’t tear down their power grids tomorrow, but perhaps they can contribute to a new sort of developed world — the one emerging on the African continent. The UNDP is supporting Djibouti in its dedication to renewable energy. You can learn more by visiting
Promoting Better Acces to Modern Energy Services
Video 4: Biodiversity at Sea
Sometimes it's hard to protect what we can’t see, challenging to understand the world under water, and terrifying to know we’re running out of time.
Without action, more than half of the world’s marine species could be on the brink of extinction by the year 2100, according to UNESCO. With action, there’s hope; ecosystem restoration can bring species back to a particular region, saving them and us. The UNDP and GEF are working with Djiboutians to replant mangroves, creating habitats for hundreds of species. For more info about this project visit
