Preservation of Lake Chad: contribution to the Lake development strategy

Lake Chad is the second largest wetland area in Africa. 
Some three million people from the four neighboring countries (Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Nigeria) make their livelihoods from the resources and services provided by the lake: irrigated agriculture and water recession around the lake, transhumance breeding, fishing, and transport of goods. 
 
The droughts in the 1970s and 1980s and, more recently, in 2008-2010, and the opening of regional roads have promoted trade expansion and led to dual migration dynamics of herders towards the south. 
The densities reached on the shores of the lake, of 60 inhabitants/km², are unusual in the Sahel area. This human concentration is likely to crystallize situations of tension, in particular over the issue of resource sharing. 
The lake is also subject to strong seasonal and interannual variations. 

In 1964, the six States of the lake watershed set up the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) in order to more effectively manage resources, avoid conflicts of uses and contribute to the economic development of the basin.