Lake Chad: what is hidden behind the crisis of its waters

Abstract

Lake Chad is an oasis in the middle of the desert. It is a tropical lake whose active basin feeds largely on the waters of the Chari River and its main affluent, the Logone River. To a lesser extent, it receives contributions from the Komadougou Yobé, the Beid, the Yedseram and the Ngadda basins. The size of the lake is variable due to the fluctuations in the rainfall regime.

Nearly one hundred million inhabitants rely on its waters for food. For several decades, its population has been suffering a hydric and humanitarian crisis that is the result of a combination of various factors. The purpose of this paper is to address this multidimensional problem from a hydrosocial perspective, focusing not only on environmental issues but also considering that water crises are the consequence of symbiotic relationships between human beings and nature. This political-ecological perspective suggests, in Swyngedouw’s words, a close correlation between the transformations of, and in, the hydrological cycle at local, regional and global levels on the one hand and relations of social, economic and cultural power on the other (2009, p. 56). Thus considered, crises involve state structures and political decisions, geometries of power, economic and social relations of its inhabitants, and the relationship established between these factors and the environment. Therefore, this study does not consider the Lake Chad issue as the mere result of a natural desertification process or as a consequence of climate change, influenced or not by human action. Instead, we consider that this issue comprises multiple variables and actors that interact and influence each other, thus shaping the current situation of the region, which also involves four African states. Additionally, we will use the concept of “waterscape” to refer to “a landscape unity” resulting from the interaction between societies and their environment, which involves, therefore, “all social, economic, cultural and political processes through which nature is perceived and transformed by societies, as well as - in return - the influence of these environmental changes on societies” (Molle, 2012, p.220). In its current form, Lake Chad’s waterscape shows a region suffering constant human displacements and insecurity due to the conflicts triggered by human migrations in search of new lands as a consequence of the desertification caused by changes in rainfall levels. These displacements are, in turn, influenced and aggravated by state action and state violence, and by the proliferation of various armed movements that leverage the situation to pursue their illicit activities linked to organized crime.

The Lake Chad Basin is part of a circuit of trade routes established centuries ago by populations largely dependent on livestock and agriculture, who experienced periods of peaceful coexistence among them, and others not so peaceful. In modern times, this modus vivendi has been disrupted by droughts and desertification. Consequently, populations have moved from the most arid to the most humid regions, while confrontations between semi-nomadic populations or herders and sedentary populations have proliferated. In the basin states, these displacements soon led to violent clashes between herders and farmers over land use and access to water sources.

In view of such a scenario, states have not acted effectively in order to stop violence. Since their independence, the Sahelian states have neglected the desert regions of their territories mainly because of the resistance of their inhabitants to bureaucratic state practices that affected their nomadic or semi-nomadic way of life. This is the reason why such regions never had access to the basic services or economic possibilities that were available at urban centers. Consequently, desert regions did not have access to health, education, basic health services or even safe drinking water.

States have also failed to implement a land policy that ensures access to the resources that each sector needs in order to survive and prosper. The legal gaps regarding land tenure and the coexistence of several “legal categories” (such as reserves, communal land, vacant land, etc.) is a pervasive reality in this region, which reveals traditional coexistence mechanisms that are not in line with states’ bureaucratic dynamics, sometimes clashing with them.

The Lake Chad Basin states have not either been able to bring an end to the terrorist violence unleashed mainly by Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP). As a matter of fact, one of the main strategies for recruiting members and getting civilian support in the early days of Boko Haram had to do with the provision of basic health services and the opening of Koranic schools, trying to fill the gaps left by an absent state. Subsequently, Boko Haram resorted to forced recruitment, looting and widespread violence against the inhabitants of the cities and towns where it settled.

The states’ military response was channeled through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and various national or bilateral operations in the affected states. The MNJTF organized several boisterous operations –some of them successful, and others not so much- but managed to significantly reduce Boko Haram’s area of influence.

Taking the hydrosocial perspective into account, this paper seeks to analyze the variation in the rainfall level and its impact on the lake´s conditions; the historical and current population movements of the various ethnic groups inhabiting the region; the role of the region’s inhabitants and the policies imposed on them by the four basin states; the state, communal and terrorist violence occurring in the area; and the link among these factors as determinants of the current regional crisis.