Lake Chad: Greening the desert
As climate change and conflict intersect by the shores of Lake Chad, locals get support to fight advancing dunes and environmental degradation
Whether old or young, locals tell the same story: the lake is shrinking. They all recall a better time when they would fish on the islands or herd cattle in fertile lands next to the largest water source in central Africa. Now, the lakeside is dry and cracked, and people are on the move.
The harsh climatic conditions are not the only concern. The violence of Boko Haram continues to drive people out of their homes: there are more than 100,000 displaced people in the region, including 14,435 refugees. For these reasons, the Lac province registers some of the highest hunger and malnutrition rates in Chad.
The village of Fourkouloum is about one hour drive from the town of Baga Sola. Not so long ago, the arid land and sand dunes you drive through used to be covered by the lake. It is hard to believe that anyone can live here.
Near the village, some 800 local residents participate in community development activities supported by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
They receive cash transfers to engage in the creation of productive assets, which generate long-term sustained income. So far, the people of Fourkouloum have rehabilitated and fenced 5 hectares of land — the only green spot for miles around.
This initiative brings together displaced and host communities around works that contribute to their food security and nutrition and encourages them to stay in the village in the long run.
The community garden produces nutritious vegetables for the village-run school meals programme. The living hedge that surrounds it protects the crops from sand encroachment, but also from hippopotamuses and elephants: as the lake water receded, these animals can now access the area more easily. Thousand of trees, including fruit trees, are being planted to green the desert.
Participants in community development activities are also changing their family practices back home, by installing composting toilets, using smokers to preserve fish longer and cooking with efficient stoves that require less wood. In small parcels, they grow food of their own choice, for family consumption.
Around Lake Chad, where the situation is sufficiently stable, WFP is increasingly focusing on building the resilience of vulnerable communities. Fourkouloum is one of six sites in the Baga Sola area where people on the front lines of climate change are changing their habits to be able to survive.
WFP’s work to build resilience in the Lake Chad area is made possible thanks to the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Please donate today and help families around Lake Chad become self-sufficient .
