AllAfrica.com via This Day (Nigeria): A International Centre Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), for Energy, Environment and Development (ICEED), has said that 90 per cent of the water in Lake Chad had been lost to the adverse effects of climate change.Executive Director of ICEED, Mr Ewah Eleri, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja, expressed concern at the rate at which the water in the lake was receding. He said the development was worrisome in view of the fact that the lake served as source of fresh water to more than 30 million people living around its bank.
Eleri said the lake, considered to be the sixth largest in the world, is bordered by four countries, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and the Cameroon.He also expressed concern at the high rate of desert encroachment in Nigeria, saying most of the villages in the northern states had been overtaken by sand dunes. The Executive Director said that Nigeria was losing its territory at a rate of 3 kilometres per annum to the Sahara desert.
"Nigeria is facing accelerated environmental degradation, ranging from desertification, ocean surge, flood and erosion to high rate of deforestation, due to the adverse effects of climate change," he added.
A dust storm near Lake Chad, from NASA
1 comment:
There is more to Lake Chad's shrinking than climate change. Overuse of water plays its role, and is the origin of the real main problem. Lake Chad and all of its tributaries are overrun with the aquatic weed Typha (cattails). Typha is a dessication machine. And a CHAMPION Carbon sequesterer. When a plant absorbs a molecule of CO2, it also absorbs one of H2O, to make carbohydrate. It also transpires many more. Typha is one of the most productive plants (food and fuel) on Earth. As a resource, it is terrifyingly renewable. It will quickly take over any stressed body of water, and anuthing that alters the water level stresses a body of water. As a problem it is just terrifying. It contributes to drought, flooding, desertification, malaria, and many other troubles. If you really want to ameliorate climate change, look into this plant.
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