Lake Chad

Abstract

The meaning of Chad is: stagnant water with a great extension, lake. When this huge lake at the border of the hot Sahara was named there was no need for another attribute, everyone knew that the “lake” can only be one. Since then many things have changed: desert crawled south and the precious water of Lake Chad has evaporated and left behind the dry Saharan landscape. This was manifested in spectacular forms in the last fifty years – droughts, famines, epidemics, local wars and the death of hundreds – and the surface of the lake shrinked almost to its one twentieth. First, the answer to these negative tendencies was the aggressive possession of water by surrounding countries. However, it had to be realized that weapons are not sufficient tools for
providing indispensable water. To restrain shrivelling a new co-operation recognized by all parties is needed otherwise lake Chad might disappear forever.