In Chad climate change is already a reality

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is a Mbororo pastoralist and President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT). Here, she explains what it’s like to live in a place where the effects of climate change are already being felt.

Ninety percent of Lake Chad has disappeared in Ibrahim’s own lifetime. Around 40 million people depend on the lake and its resources.

The shrinking of the lake forces men to leave their communities during the dry season to look for work in the city, leaving women and children behind to manage the crops.

Chad is already struggling with poverty and frequent conflicts. Sixty-three percent of its people are destitute, and most of the country lives by subsistence farming.

People in Chad are turning to traditional knowledge to ensure their survival. Across the Sahel desert, many farmers are reviving an old technique called zai, which involves digging pits to catch rainwater. The technique concentrates nutrients and can increase crop yields by up to 500%.

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