Lake Chad is a historical lake whose size has varied over centuries and is the largest lake in Chad. The lake shrank 95% since 1963 to 1998, according to the survey conducted by the United Nations Environment Program named Global Resource Information Database. The lake supplies water to more than 68 million people living in the four countries namely Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon lying at the edge of Sahara desert. Chari River’s tributary Logone feeds the lake with 90% water. Many small islands, mud banks and reed beds cover almost half of the area of lake.
The Flora of the lake comprises of about 44 species of algae and the southern part of the lake consists of floodplains that include Hyparrhenia rufa, Oryza longistaminata, Echinochola pyramidalis and Vetiveria nigritana. The lake consists of about 89 fish species and Brycinus dageti fish found nowhere else in the world. The lake consists of several floating islands and is house to many wildlife animals, which includes crocodile and hippopotamus. Various migrating birds such as waterfowl birds, shore birds, ruff and ducks inhabit the park. The lake faces several threats, such as excessive pumping of water for the ever-growing human population. This has created several problems for the large number of other species dwelling in the area.
Image Source : TheStar