We time and again highlight in our articles about the global environmental concerns. Another beautiful and natural sweet water reservoir is badly affected with environmental degradation. Who can deny the importance of water in our day to day life? Water is very much essential to virtually every human endeavor. In many parts of the world, due to high rise in the global temperature, our beautiful planet is suffering from the growing number of water shortages. This might result into great economic tensions, environment spoilage and even warfare among different nations.

Lake Chad. The bright pattern visible in the green areas are old sand dunes,

Lake Chad is an important sweet water lake in Chad which is a poor and landlocked country of North Africa. Lake Chad is a very large and shallow endorheic lake in Africa, the size of which has varied over the centuries. UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) had warned that almost 95% of the water of Lake Chad has been shrunk from 1963 to 1998, although there is a slight improvement in the recent years. Lake Chad is located mainly in the far west of Chad, bordering on northeastern Nigeria. Lake Chad is mostly fed by the River Logone which is actually a tributary of the River Chari. Rapid expansion in the human population and unsustainable human water extraction from Lake Chad has resulted into some terrible environment problems in this area. The unique fauna which is endemic to the Lake Chad is threatened to be extinct. The other consequences are emerging as the growing conflicts among the neighboring countries that have their respective stakes over the remaining waters of Lake Chad. The impacts are really severe as the situation is becoming violent in the whole region.

Lake Chad supports more than 20 million people. Photo: John Scofield

Lake Chad is the home of above 180 species of fish. There also some populations of hippopotamus and crocodiles which are now in great decline. In the season, Lake Chad also hosts huge number of migratory birds including wintering ducks and many other water fouls. Lake Chad is particularly famous as the home of more than fourty species of algae. The whole lake has been declared a Ramsar site of international importance.

Lake Chad: Photo by Cédric Faimali

Obviously the high rise in the global temperatures caused due to massive greenhouse gas emissions during the last 100 years is disturbing the cycling of water. This is the main reason that nowadays we are facing either extreme floods or deadly droughts in many parts of the world. The need of the day is to meet these type of water challenges like the elimination of the sweet waters of the Lake Chad. The situation is becoming worse day by day and this beautiful lake seeks attention of not only the local authorities but also International bodies. The urgent change in the usage and the management of the water of Lake Chad is required, otherwise the day is not far, when the talk about the Lake Chad will become a tale of the past.