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OurWorld 2.0: Sucking Dry an African Giant
2 April, 2009
Source: UNEP Atlas of Our Changing Environment
Lake Chad has literally gone from being an oasis in the desert, to being just desert.
Spanning the countries of Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon and bordering the Sahara desert, Lake Chad has contracted by a massive 95% between 1963 and 2001.
Some stunning satellite images from NASA and compelling time-series video from Circle of Blue demonstrate the rapid decline of what was formerly the world's 6th largest lake.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), about half of the shrinkage of the traditionally shallow Lake Chad has been caused by climatic changes, and the other half by high demand for agricultural water.
Poor human management through overgrazing and unsustainable irrigation has resulted in the replacement of natural vegetation with invasive plant species (now covering 50% of the lake), deforestation and the drying of the climate.
How will this affect you? Click here for full article.
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Page last modified 2009.11.02.
