The disappearance of Lake Chad

History of a Myth

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4302010
AutoresGéraud Magrin (0000-0003-3432-2721, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, autor de correspondencia)
Año2016
Volumen23
Número1
Páginas204
Fecha de publicación2016-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Political Ecology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1073-0451 • E-ISSN: 1073-0451
EditorialUniversity of Arizona (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2458/v23i1.20191
OpenAlexW2620152665
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas18
Referencias citadas7

The article explores the hydropolitics of Lake Chad. Scientific and popular views on the fate of Lake Chad differ widely. The supposed 'disappearance' of the Lake through water abstraction and climate change is a popular myth that endures because it serves a large set of heterogeneous interests, including those supporting inter-basin water transfers. Meanwhile scientific investigations show substantial and continuing Lake level fluctuations over time, and do not support its projected disappearance. The task is to understand how the myth of the disappearing Lake has been engendered and used, by studying the discourses and the strategies of the main stakeholders involved. The Lake has been protected so far from massive water abstraction, and inter-basin transfer projects, due to the fragmentation of its political management, new security threats, and the piecemeal nature of the interests in play

Climate change · Environmental ethics · Geomorphology · Mythology · Political science · Politics · Structural basin · Water resources · Water security · Flood Risk Assessment and Management · History · Law · Transboundary Water Resource Management · Water resources management and optimization · Ecology · Geology · Oceanography