Fishing and Farming at Lake Chad: Responses to Lake‐level Fluctuations

Abstract

Lake Chad lies at the southern extreme of the Sahara Desert and is well known for large fluctuations in its surface area this century. Seasonal fluctuations, however, have received much less attention. This paper presents the results of two complimentary research efforts on the south‐west shore of the lake. These illustrate how important both inter and intra‐annual fluctuations in the level of the lake are, both in terms of their impact on the environment and in the response of the communities living on the lake shore. The paper compares a time series of the fluctuations in the level of Lake Chad as monitored by the TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite with findings from participatory research with the communities of the south‐west lake shore. It shows how the communities of the lake have responded to lake‐level fluctuations with their livelihood choices. These results are used to show that although vastly different in scope, a high degree of complimentarity exists between remotely‐sensed information and community‐based research and that they are of potentially great value to development initiatives on the shores of Lake Chad.

Lake Chad Total Surface Water Area as Derived from Land Surface Temperature and Radar Remote Sensing Data

“…Lake Chad is a large endorheic lake located in central Africa and intersecting the Sudan-Savanna, Sahelian, and Saharan agro-climatic zones [1]. In 2014, over two million people lived along the shoreline of Lake Chad [2], and by 2015, the lake provided a livelihood for an estimated thirteen million people [3].…”

“…The wet season lasts from June to October, although due to the time lag of water flowing through the Chari and Logone River systems, the annual flooding occurs during the dry season [10]. The lake rises about 1-2 m during the annual flooding season [4] and provides livelihoods to fishermen who are most productive following the floods, to "recession farmers" who farm in the rich soils of the receding floodwaters, and to those who raise livestock [1].…”

“…Such a model could be very useful for supporting livelihood decisions for part of the population of the lake. Sarch and Birkett (2000) [1], for instance, found that "farmers cannot be sure when the flood will reach the land around their village or whether it will at all." There are some indications from the literature that the lake has been increasing in size since the 1990s, however these patterns are either not well described or are defined over a relatively short period of time.…”

“…Such a model could be very useful for supporting livelihood decisions for part of the population of the lake. Sarch and Birkett (2000) [1], for instance, found that "farmers cannot be sure when the flood will reach the land around their village or whether it will at all." …”

Conviviendo con la escasez. Cultura y adaptabilidad pesquera en el lago de Chapala

“…Estos cambios se relacionan con las fluctuaciones naturales o inducidas en el nivel de agua del lago de Chapala, cuestión en donde se debe considerar que los lagos someros tropicales, como es el caso, se caracterizan por sus fluctuaciones en el nivel de agua cuya amplitud depende de las características climáticas de cada región (templado, semiárido, árido) y de los usos humanos (Coops, Beklioglu & Crisman, 2003: p. 24). Se ha demostrado que estos factores alteran de manera radical el estado de los lagos someros y por lo tanto la actividad pesquera que se practica en estos ecosistemas (Sarch & Birkett, 2000;Moncayo et al, 2012). Ante las oscilaciones en los niveles de agua, las comunidades lacustres tienen que responder según los lagos se contraigan o se expandan.…”