According to a study carried out by Candlelight in 2006, Prosopis was first introduced in Somalia in the early 1950 in the area west of Berbera by a British forester to combat desertification, dust storms and sand dune movement. Later, in the 1970s and 1980s, it was introduced in several areas of Somaliland to reduce environment degradation in the area. The inhabitants were destroying native trees for fuelwood and construction material. It was felt that Prosopis could growing fast compared to the slow growing native trees and therefore was a good substitute.