Perilous Times and Climate Change.
Fast Disappearing Lake Chad is harming regional stability: PM
by Staff Writers
N'Djamena (AFP) Nov 02, 2010
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.