During the end of Phase II, SWALIM set up six “data centers” in the ministries in Somaliland and Puntland and similar data centers are planned for Central and Southern Somalia. SWALIM has also provided supplies and equipment to the line ministries, including gear for hydro-geological surveys and tools for testing and measuring water and soil quality.

In Somaliland, there are data centers at the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development. In Puntland, data centers have been set up at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, the, Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism; and at the Puntland State Agency for Water, Energy and Natural Resources (PSAWEN). The data centers are equipped with computers, internet connections, and other facilities. The functions of each data center are in line with the mandate of the specific ministry and most of the SWALIM data sets have already been transferred to the data centers. The IT equipment and consumables used to run the centers are provided by SWALIM.

SWALIM supports two staff in each of the six ministries to ensure that the data center is run by staff with the necessary skills and knowledge to serve their ministries, as well as the general public, with the water and land resources information that they require. Once SWALIM offices are established in South-Central Somalia, a similar scheme will be put in place with the institutions in these regions. The data center staff undergo an intensive training programme that follows a “Training of Trainers” approach so that, once they gain the necessary skills, they can train other staff in the ministry.