Lake Chad Cultural Landscape: An uncommon transnational potential in the midst of multiple challenges

Abstract

In the heart of the Sahelian belt, on the borders of Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria, lies the Lake Chad Cultural Landscape, one of the largest inhabited lacustrine landscapes on our planet. This immense freshwater expanse in the middle of a desert is shared by Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria and currently covers 17, 000 km2. This area offers a great diversity of wetland ecosystems that makes it a great source of life for many animal species in this semi-desert environment. On the shores of the lake, the desert sands and the water meet in a complex network of meanders, sometimes turned into areas for cultivation and breeding by the inhabitants. Lake Chad is unique in that it is covered by hundreds of islands, many of which are inhabited by several communities that rely on its resources and perpetuate sober lifestyles that ensure their resilience. This cohabitation between Man and nature, which dates back to the Palaeolithic era, gives a true dimension of cultural landscape to this vast lake.