Shrinking Lake Chad turning farmland into desert

(CNN) -- Lake Chad is shrinking rapidly, threatening the millions of people who depend on it for their survival. But some locals are fighting back in a bid to preserve their way of life.

From droughts causing bad harvests, to floods destroying farms and homes, life in Africa's Sahel belt can be a constant struggle.

The arid belt of land stretches from Senegal in the west, all the way across the continent to Ethiopia in the east. With the Sahara to the north, and the savannah to the south, it's a region that experiences extreme dry and wet seasons.

In the middle of it all is Lake Chad, the most reliable resource in this region of shifting extremes. More than 20 million people depend on the freshwater lake for their survival.

But it's been shrinking over the past 50 years and satellite images show it is now just a twentieth of its former size.

Huge expanses of water are now nothing more than a series of ponds and islands, and the once-fertile land that surrounds the lake is now dusty and barren.

The lake is in the process of disappearing and the lake feeds many people.
--Farid Dembell, Society for the Development of Lake Region

"If there are solutions we must find them," said Farid Dembell, from the Society for the Development of Lake Region.

"The lake is in the process of disappearing and the lake feeds many people, not just here but in other countries like Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger," he continued. "They are all people who live on Lake Chad."

The way of life in this area stretches back centuries and many earn a living fishing in the lake.

Locals report that they are catching less fish and the ones that they do catch are smaller than they used to be.

A declining stock could have devastating consequences far beyond the water's edge, says Yakowra Mallom, from UNICEF.

"At the start we didn't know anything about the problem of malnutrition," she said. "But now the figures are enormous. The children are all malnourished. There are no more fish. There's no more milk, no maize, no vegetables or cereal."

Local communities say the changing weather is the biggest reason for the shrinking of the lakes shores. The necessary irrigation of farming land has also been a factor.

But some people are making efforts to save their livelihoods.

A small local group is trying to save the surrounding land by planting trees in the villages that have been worst affected by desertification. If they cannot bring back the lake, they hope there will at least be workable land.

Saleh Sagoubi heads up the Tree Planting Association, a volunteer organization that has around 50 young members.

"I was born here and I grew up here," he said. "I want the lake to come back, not just for me, but for the children of the future."

Sagoubi blames climate change for turning much of the once-fertile land of the Sahel into desert. His group is trying to hold back the Sahara with a "great green wall" of drought-resistant trees.

"To stop the Sahara we must make lots of effort day and night -- we must work," he said.

"The desert will be stopped one day by trees; they are our weapons of mass destruction."

乍得湖萎縮把農田變成沙漠
（CNN）的 - 乍得湖是迅速萎縮，威脅數以百萬計的人誰依賴於它的生存。但是，一些當地人的反擊，企圖維持其生活方式。
從乾旱造成歉收，洪水毀壞農田和家園，生活在非洲薩赫勒地帶可以是一個不斷的鬥爭。
乾旱帶的土地橫跨塞內加爾在西方，所有的方式向整個非洲大陸東部的埃塞俄比亞。與撒哈拉以北，和熱帶草原到南方，這是一個區域的經驗，極端乾旱和雨季。
在中間的這一切是乍得湖，最可靠的資源在本地區轉移極端。 20多萬人民賴以生存的淡水湖泊的生存。
但它已經縮小，在過去 50年，衛星圖像顯示，它現在只是一個第二十屆其前的大小。
大片的水現在只不過是一個系列的池塘和島嶼，並一度肥沃的土地，現在是湖周圍的灰塵和荒蕪。
該湖是在這一過程中消失，許多人在湖飼料。
- 法里德Dembell，社會的發展湖區
“如果有解決方案，我們必須找到他們，說：”法里德Dembell，從社會的發展湖區。
“這個湖是在這一過程中消失，許多人在湖飼料，不只是在這裡，但在其他國家，如尼​​日利亞，喀麥隆和尼日爾，”他繼續說。 “他們是誰所有的人生活在乍得湖。”
生活的方式在這方面可以追溯到幾個世紀，許多謀生在湖中捕魚。
當地居民報告說，他們正趕上少的魚和那些他們趕上小於它們以前的樣子。
股票可能有一個下降的破壞性後果遠遠超出了水的邊緣，說 Yakowra Mallom，兒童基金會。
“一開始我們不知道任何有關該問題的營養不良，”她說。 “但現在的數字是巨大的。孩子們都營養不良。沒有更多的魚。沒有更多的牛奶，沒有玉米，沒有蔬菜或穀類。”
當地社區說，天氣變化是最大的原因萎縮的湖泊岸邊。需要灌溉的農田也被一個因素。
但是，有些人正在努力拯救他們的生計。
一個小地方集團正試圖挽救周圍的土地，種植樹木的村莊已受到荒漠化影響最嚴重。如果他們不能帶回的湖泊，他們希望有至少是可行的土地。
薩利赫 Sagoubi抬起頭樹種植協會，志願者組織，有大約 50名成員。
“我出生在這裡，我在這裡長大的，”他說。 “我想在湖邊回來，不僅僅是為我，而是為了孩子的未來。”
Sagoubi歸咎於氣候變化的轉折大部分的曾經肥沃的土地變成沙漠的薩赫勒地區。他的研究小組正在試圖阻止撒哈拉沙漠以“綠色長城”的抗旱樹木。
“停止撒哈拉我們必須作出大量的努力，日夜 - 我們必須工作，”他說。
“沙漠將停止一天的樹木，他們是我們的大規模殺傷性武器。”