Climate change and overfishing shrink fish stocks around Lake Chad
Communities in Chad's Lake Province face mounting hardship as climate change and overfishing deplete fish stocks and damage farmland. The region, already strained by years of Boko Haram threats, is being pushed deeper into crisis.
Residents of Chad's Lake Province are among those most affected by climate change in Central Africa. For generations, the region's communities have relied on the vast lake for their livelihoods, with fishing and farming forming the backbone of local life.
Erratic weather disrupts livelihoods
Increasingly unpredictable weather patterns are disrupting both activities. Fish stocks are dwindling, farmland is being damaged, and the cost of living for local residents continues to rise as a result.
A region already under strain
Lake Chad's province is considered one of Central Africa's most productive areas, yet it has spent years contending with threats from Boko Haram jihadists. The added pressure of climate change is now pushing the region further into crisis.
France 24 correspondent Harold Girard spoke with local residents whose livelihoods depend directly on the lake's climatic stability, documenting how shifting weather conditions are reshaping their daily lives and future prospects.
