Lake Chad was formerly one of the largest lakes in the world but decline in vegetation from overgrazing and desertification combined with climate change has reduced the great lake by around 95%. However, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) wants to divert water from other rivers to revitalize the lake and local livelihoods. The LCBC convened recently to discuss “ecosystem conservation and [the] transfer of water from the Congo River to the drought prone Lake Chad basin.” It will be interesting to follow the project’s implementation and success. According to a Goddard Space Flight Center Press Release dated February 27, 2001 just after the inauguration of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001:

Using model and climate data, Coe and Foley calculate that a 30 percent decrease took place in the lake between 1966 and 1975. Irrigation only accounted for 5 percent of that decrease, with drier conditions accounting for the remainder. They noticed that irrigation demands increased four-fold between 1983 and 1994, accounting for 50 percent of the additional decrease in the size of the lake.

“NASA Landsat satellite imagery taken of the lake over the last 30 years really capture the model conclusions and visualize them very well,” the researchers noted.

Lake Chad and the Chari/Logone river system, which transports 90 percent of the runoff generated in the area basin, are important water resources for the local population. The lake is 820 feet (250 m) above sea level and is shared by Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger. Lake Chad has always undergone seasonal and inter-annual fluctuations because it is less than 23 feet (7 m) deep. In recent decades, during wet periods the lake expands up to 10,000 square miles (25,900 square km). The warming climate and increasing desertification in the surrounding Sahel region have dropped water levels far below the average dry season level of 4,000 square miles (10,000 square km) to only 839 square miles (1,350 square km).

The Northern Africa Sahel region has experienced numerous devastating droughts over the last three decades. “Climate data has shown a great decrease in rainfall since the early 1960’s largely due to a decrease in the number of large rainfall events,” Coe said.

On the Net: A SHADOW OF A LAKE: AFRICA’S DISAPPEARING LAKE CHAD
On the Net: Africa’s Disappearing Lake Chad
On the Net: Satellite picture shows Africa’s dying lake
On the Net: Shrinking African Lake Offers Lesson on Finite Resources

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