Nigeria Seeks $14.5billion To Address Lake Chad Basin

The federal government has estimated that $14.5billion will be needed to revive the receding Lake Chad which is threatening the survival of 20million people in the region.

 

The Minister for Water resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe said leaders of the Lake Chad basin commission have renewed the call for international solidarity in line with funding of a 5-year investment plan aimed at saving Lake Chad.

The Minister also expressed concern about the violent conflict around the lake where herdsmen and farmers constantly compete for the receding lake to survive.

The waters of Lake Chad, a fresh water lake located in west central Africa, one of the poorest areas in the world has been receding for decades.

Over 30million people depend on the lake to sustain their means of livelihood.
As parts of the lake dry up, the impact of the drying lake is causing tensions among communities around the water.

There are constant conflicts between 20 million Nigerian farmers and herdsmen over the control of the remaining water.

To address the overuse and abuse of water supply also responsible for the shrinking of the lake, member states of the Lake Chad basin came up with a water charter.

Apart from issues of global warming which is also responsible for the recession, communities have praised the move by states to divert rivers to refill the lake.

At its current decline and surface area of 2,500 square kilometres, observers say the Lake Chad could be gone over the next 20 years.