Lake Chad

Lake Chad is a shallow freshwater lake in the Sahel, shared by Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger. Its area fluctuates greatly with rainfall and river inflow.

Chari River: A river system in Central Africa that supplies most of Lake Chad’s inflow. Its seasonal flow is the lake’s main source of water.
Lake Chad Basin Commission: An intergovernmental organization established by countries sharing the Lake Chad Basin to coordinate management of its resources. It provides a regional framework for cooperation over the lake and basin.
Great Barrier of the Lake Chad Basin: A proposed and partially implemented system of dams and water-transfer works intended to restore Lake Chad. It is a prominent, contested proposal for addressing declining lake levels.
Desiccation of Lake Chad: The major contraction of Lake Chad’s open-water area observed since the mid-twentieth century. Its causes and scale are central to disputes over the lake’s recent history.
Logone River: A Central African river that joins the Chari before the combined flow reaches Lake Chad. Its flood pulses contribute to the lake’s annual water budget.
Lake Chad fisheries: Commercial and subsistence fishing activities in Lake Chad and its connected wetlands. Fluctuating open water and wetlands alter fish habitat and fishing livelihoods.
Komadugu-Yobe River: A river system in Nigeria and Niger that drains into the Lake Chad Basin. Its flows support wetlands and communities in the basin’s western sector.
Lake Chad climate change attribution: Research assessing how climate variability and human water use contributed to Lake Chad’s changing extent. The relative roles of rainfall shifts and water withdrawals remain debated.
Sahel: A semiarid belt south of the Sahara, stretching across Africa from the Atlantic toward the Red Sea. Lake Chad’s rainfall and evaporation reflect the Sahel’s sharply seasonal climate.
Lake Chad Basin Development Authority: A Nigerian government agency responsible for development projects in Nigeria’s part of the Lake Chad Basin. It represents one national approach to managing water and land around the lake.

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