Lake Chad Basin Current Affairs Analysis

#GS-2 #Current Events #International #Geography #Environment #Rapid Fire CA

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Recently, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has become the strongest jihadist group in the region.
It has overtaken Boko Haram in both influence and overall capability within the Lake Chad basin.

The Lake Chad Basin is a large transnational drainage area located in Central and West Africa.
It covers nearly 8% of the entire African land surface and stretches across multiple countries.
The basin extends across parts of Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin.
It features vast wetlands and floodplains especially along the Chari, Logone and Yobe rivers.
Important ecological sites here include Yaeres, Sategui-Deressia and Hadejia-Nguru.
The basin faces serious environmental problems like severe droughts and a shrinking lake area.
Other major issues include reduced river flows, falling groundwater levels and heavy soil erosion.
The region also suffers from invasive weeds, loss of plant species and declining wildlife populations.

Lake Chad serves as a major freshwater lake and a vital wetland in the Sahel region.
Four countries share this lake, which are Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
The Nigerian portion of the lake is mainly located in Borno and Yobe States.
It is a shallow endorheic lake that receives water mainly from the Logone-Chari and Komadougou rivers.
The lake has no natural outlet to the sea.
It supports a rich variety of life including migratory birds, hippopotamus and the Nile crocodile.
Other animals found here include the Nile monitor, tortoise, otter, giraffe and ostrich.
The area experiences a Sahelian climate marked by low rainfall and a long dry season.
The lake is historically linked to the ancient Sao civilisation.
It supports local communities like the Kotoko, Kanembou, Barma, Boulalan and Hausa.
These communities depend on fishing, farming, cattle rearing and trade for their livelihood.