The future of rapidly shrinking Lake Chad will have a profound impact on peace and security in central Africa and coordinated action is needed to save it, Chad’s prime minister said on Friday.
“Saving Lake Chad requires us all to find a lasting solution not just for the 30 million people who live around it but also regional peace and stability,” Emmanuel Nadingar told delegates at the opening of the Africa Session of the 8th World Sustainability Forum.
“If the lake area has decreased from 25,000 square kilometres (9,650 square miles) to 2,500 square kilometres in the past 30 years, what can be done to stop it disappearing within 20 years?” Nadingar said.
A document released at the forum said the area of the lake had decreased by 90 percent since 1960, and could disappear within two decades.
The three-day forum in the Chadian capital brings together scientists, politicians and representatives from civil society to discuss ways for saving the lake.
