Socio-economic importance The Lake Chad basin supports more than 20 million people. The local economy in the upper part of the catchment is based on fishing, agriculture and pas- toralism. However, people living around the lake lack access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation. More than 150,000 fishermen live on the lake’s shores and its islands. Many of them originate from well beyond the riparian region, sometimes from as far as Ghana. The current estimate of annual fish pro- duction from the lake is 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes. However, as a result of environmental changes since the 1970s, including fluctuations in lake level, there have been considerable changes in the fish fauna. These include high mortality, the disappearance of some open-water species, and the appearance of species adapted to swamp conditions in areas where they were previously unknown. The raising of cattle, sheep and camels – by local as well as nomadic herders – is also economically important, together with cultivation of some traditional crops. The most common system is lake-bottom crop- ping or receding moisture cultivation, which has been a response to the contraction of Lake Chad. Villagers have shifted from relying entirely on fishing, to farm- ing the emergent lake floor as flood water recedes. A few large-scale irrigation schemes (polders) developed on some parts of the lake shore have proven totally unsuited to the hydrological, climatic and cultural conditions in the Lake Chad region, and can be considered as complete failures. Though still quite marginal, the production of spiruline (blue algae) seems to be gaining economic importance. In addition to direct support for livelihoods, the lake also plays an important socio-economic role in regulating annual water supply, recharging ground- water, and helping to control flooding. However, the precise linkages between environ- mental and socio-economic systems and their trans- boundary impacts are still to be determined; for
instance, the important role of groundwater in the basin. The forthcoming GEF project, supported by UNDP and the World Bank, will enable a better understanding of transboundary issues relating to groundwater and will help in deciding the best options for management.
Socio-economic importance The Lake Chad basin supports more than 20 million people. The local economy in the upper part of the catchment is based on fishing, agriculture and pas- toralism. However, people living around the lake lack access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation. More than 150,000 fishermen live on the lake’s shores and its islands. Many of them originate from well beyond the riparian region, sometimes from as far as Ghana. The current estimate of annual fish pro- duction from the lake is 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes. However, as a result of environmental changes since the 1970s, including fluctuations in lake level, there have been considerable changes in the fish fauna. These include high mortality, the disappearance of some open-water species, and the appearance of species adapted to swamp conditions in areas where they were previously unknown. The raising of cattle, sheep and camels – by local as well as nomadic herders – is also economically important, together with cultivation of some traditional crops. The most common system is lake-bottom crop- ping or receding moisture cultivation, which has been a response to the contraction of Lake Chad. Villagers have shifted from relying entirely on fishing, to farm- ing the emergent lake floor as flood water recedes. A few large-scale irrigation schemes (polders) developed on some parts of the lake shore have proven totally unsuited to the hydrological, climatic and cultural conditions in the Lake Chad region, and can be considered as complete failures. Though still quite marginal, the production of spiruline (blue algae) seems to be gaining economic importance. In addition to direct support for livelihoods, the lake also plays an important socio-economic role in regulating annual water supply, recharging ground- water, and helping to control flooding. However, the precise linkages between environ- mental and socio-economic systems and their trans- boundary impacts are still to be determined; forinstance, the important role of groundwater in the basin. The forthcoming GEF project, supported by UNDP and the World Bank, will enable a better understanding of transboundary issues relating to groundwater and will help in deciding the best options for management.
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