Lake Chad

Lake Chad is a shallow, historically extensive lake in the Sahel region of central Africa, lying at the meeting point of Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. It has been a crucial water source for irrigation, fishing and pastoralism for millions of people across the region.

The lake’s surface area has varied dramatically since the mid-20th century, shrinking in years of drought and expanding in wetter periods; this variability has major social and ecological consequences for communities that depend on it. Shoreline wetlands and seasonally flooded areas host diverse birdlife and fisheries when water levels are higher.

Historically Lake Chad was much larger, but from the 1960s onward its extent has fluctuated widely due to climate variability, upstream water use and changing rainfall patterns. Efforts to manage and rehabilitate the lake and surrounding basin have been the subject of regional cooperation initiatives.

Geographically it lies in the low-lying Chad Basin in north-central Africa; the portion adjoining Nigeria is in the country’s northeastern area, with the nearest major city on the Nigerian side being Maiduguri several hundred kilometres to the south.

• Cross-border lake: Borders four countries - Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria - and is shared between them, so access conditions and shorelines vary by country and season.
• Highly variable size: Surface area varies dramatically with rainfall and seasons; shorelines and shallow wetlands can expand and contract by orders of magnitude across decades.