The Chad basin, centred around Lake Chad, covers almost 8% of the African continent and is home to over 30 million people. Over half of this population carves a living out of farming, herding and fishing thanks to the basin. Yet it is shrinking at an alarming rate, the lake now covering less than a tenth of the area it was in 1960. Dams, increased irrigation, and climate change are reducing water levels. Additional tension from the rise of Boko Haram are adding further pressures on the region.
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