Project description

Title: Sustainable water resources management for Lake Chad
Commissioned by: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Country: Africa, transnational (located in Chad)
Lead executing agency: Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), based in Ndjamena (Chad)
Overall term: January 2005 to December 2013

Context

Lake Chad is the only sizeable surface freshwater reservoir in the Sahel zone. Climatic factors, its uncontrolled use for irrigated farming, and high population pressure have caused the lake to shrink to 10% of its original surface area over the past four decades. The Lake Chad Basin Commission, founded in 1964, has not been able to stop the degradation. Effective cooperation among the riparian states on protecting the ecosystem is still very rudimentary. Additional efforts are now needed to maintain a continual exchange of data, build a joint knowledge platform, and develop effective regional strategies against Lake Chad drying up.

Objective

GIZ is supporting the establishment of a knowledge management system for the Lake Chad Basin Commission with the aim of creating a basis for the effective regional management of the lake.

Approach

Short-term experts providing consultancy in 'hydrology/hydrogeology' and 'hydroinformatics and knowledge management' are assigned to advise the Commission on establishing a knowledge management system. The necessary change process is to be accompanied by organisational consultancy. The goal is to establish the processes - ranging from decentral-ised data collection by the national water management authorities to data processing and use - permanently in the Lake Chad Basin Commission. Training and upgrading events will introduce selected specialists from the riparian states and the Commission to the complex interrelationships between surface water and groundwater.

In the Planning directorate, the Knowledge Management task force will receive targeted coaching for its new task within the framework of transboundary cooperation. Experts on short-term contracts will support the task force members, for instance in devising a protocol for the exchange of hydrological data. A technical advisory committee, made up of represen-tatives from the member states, will bring national interests into the discussion and, in a con-sultative function, assist in preparing for the meetings with the ministers.

Results achieved so far

An effective knowledge management system is increasing the efficiency of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. It is essential for the effective development and implementation of regional strategies for transboundary management. In the long term, the principles of integrated water resources management are to be applied with the aim of halting the lake's degradation.