NANFeatures/Vol.12/No.47/2018 (March 16)
Restoring the Lake Chad Basin
A News Analysis by Tosin Kolade, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
By most assessments, Lake Chad is the largest in the Chad Basin and principal source of life to millions of people living in Nigeria, Algeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Niger and Sudan.
These countries have an estimated population of 373.6 million with 12 per cent estimated in 2013 living around the lake region.
Apart from its size, the lake is rated among one of the oldest lakes in Africa that has shrunk by as much as 95 per cent from 1963 to 1998, according to Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme.
For its maintenance, an intergovernmental organisation — the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) — was created in 1964 by the four countries bordering the lake, having its secretariat in N’Djamena, Chad.
The aims of the commission are to regulate and control the use of water and other natural resources in the basin and to initiate, promote, and coordinate natural resource development projects and research.
In search of solution to the challenges facing the lake, President Muhammadu Buhari was recently appointed as the Chairman, Heads of LCBC.
During the recent International Conference on Lake Chad in Abuja, with the theme: “Saving the Lake Chad to revitalise the basin’s ecosystem for sustainable livelihood, security and development,’’ Buhari expressed concern about the shrinkage of the lake.
He observed that the shrinkage of the lake was one of the main factors responsible for insurgency and socio-economic unrest in the Lake Chad Basin.
He also said that Nigeria on its part had initiated several measures to cushion the plight of the people living on Nigeria’s side of the basin.
According to him, some of the measures include the establishment of Presidential Initiative on the North-East, peace building assessment in collaboration with World Bank, EU and UN and the North-East Development Commission.
He observed that in spite of these efforts, the major challenges facing the Lake Chad region remained unresolved.
He recalled that the lake was formerly an oasis in the desert, a hub of economic activities and food security where farmers, fishermen, herdsmen and traders were happy about their commercial activities.
“Unfortunately, today that is all history; the oasis in the desert is just a desert now, due to the drying up of the Lake Chad,’’ he said.
Buhari, therefore, warned the international community that the world would pay dearly if the Lake Chad was allowed to go into extinction.
In his view, Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu, said that saving the Lake Chad in a sustainable manner required the collaboration of all relevant stakeholders and that all hands should be on deck in that regard.
He noted that the UN Environmental Programme in 2006 reported that persistent drought, unfavourable climatic conditions and growing human population had decimated the values of the lake.
Adamu, therefore, called on all stakeholders to support the processes to restore the glory of the region.
In supporting the processes for the lake’s restoration, Mr Sanusi Abdullahi, the Executive Secretary, LCBC, said challenges such as insurgency, climate change and non-payment of annual contributions, should be addressed first.
According to him, there is the need to mobilise partnership for reversing the devastating effects of the drying Lake Chad.
Abdullahi said that previous efforts made towards the realisation of the inter-basin water transfer project to recharge the basin with water and save it from extinction was worthy of note.
He also said that the programme to rehabilitate and strengthen the resilience of the basin was ongoing.
According to him, there is no solution to the shrinking of the lake that does not involve recharging it with water from outside the basin.
“It is not an option but a necessity because the region is faced with the possibility of the disappearance of the lake with telling effects on Africa.
“Poverty, misery, loss of hopes and the spread of violent extremism, human trafficking and migration in the Lake Chad has endured for too long; it must come to an end, that is the task before all of us,’’ he said.
However, Mr Issoufu Katambe, Chairman of the Council of LCBC Ministers, commended Buhari’s administration for its efforts at paying its annual dues.
He called on all other member-nations to contribute their quota towards the realisation of the restoration of the basin.
He said that there was the need to find sustainable solutions to the restoration of the Lake Chad basin to fight violence poverty and unemployment in the region.
In his view, Mr Guy Immega, a water engineer at the conference, suggested the use of solar energy to recharge the drying Lake Chad basin to promote livelihood for those in the region.
According to him, the use of solar is a cost effective approach that could provide technical and social benefits to the benefiting countries.
“The solar option is the best choice because it is approximately 10 per cent of the cost of a hydroelectric dam, no flooding and displacement of villages and people.
“No disruption of fisheries and agriculture, no significant river water loss, renewed Lake Chad ecosystem will lead to increased agriculture, food security and economic opportunities,’’ Immega said.
According to him, Lake Chad was once the most important freshwater ecosystem in the Sahel, providing sustenance to more than 30 million people living in Africa’s central sub-Sahara.
He said in the last 50 years, the lake had shrunk to less than 10 per cent of its former size, resulting in major humanitarian crisis.
Immega commended the LCBC for studying the problem and seeking a viable approach for Inter-Basin Water Transfer from the Ubangi River, a tributary of the Congo River in Central Africa, to replenish Lake Chad.
But Mr Kashim Ali, President, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, said water transfer to Lake Chad basin was taking too long a time to begin since the project was concieved.
“I think it’s more of the lack of political will, because in all these countries, there are experts and they cannot say that they have not been told, so we are saying it now, create that platform for proper project design and implementation.
“It is just like you are building a house, you must first start with the excavation, that is when we know you are serious; that’s how engineering is done in countries where these projects have been achieved,’’ he said.
Ali also emphasised the need for proper planning and the involvement of technical teams that would review all country reports for proper development of the region.
Stakeholders, therefore, agree with Ali, noting that urgent actions should be taken to restore water to the lake to prevent famine, water distribution problems, human and animal diseases.
They recall that feasibility study for the water transfer from the Congo basin to the Lake Chad was the second priority project selected for implementation by LCBC in 1984 at the height of the most severe drought affecting the lake.
They observed further that the proposal was approved but was considered too big which informed the decision to take water from the Ubangi River to Lake Chad by LCBC member-states.
After the adoption, they alleged that raising six million dollars for the pre-feasibility study of the Ubangi-Lake Chad Inter-Basin Water Transfer became a problem until former President Olusegun Obasanjo provided support and inaugurated a diplomatic campaign to get the no-objection of the two Congo.
The conduct of the feasibility study was awarded to a Canadian firm, CIMA International and work began on Oct. 13, 2009 for a period of 28 months.
The result was that the Ubangi-Lake Chad Inter-Basin Water Transfer project was technically feasible and economically viable from the Congo basin at the cost 14.5 billion dollars.
The project would involve transferring water from the Ubangi River to Lake Chad through an inter-basin pumping from Palambo Dam in Central African Republic.
The result of the study was endorsed by the 14th Summit of the Head of States and Government of the LCBC on April 30, 2012.
Stakeholders, therefore, observe that if the project is completed, the water level of the lake will increase by one metre in both the south and the north basins and increase the size of the lake by more than 5,000 square kilometres between four and five years.(NANFeatures)
**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)