The Conventional Basin

The Lake Chad Conventional Basin in which the Commission is carrying out its activities is a geographical stretch of land comprising portions of Member States national territories put together, and the lake itself. The lake is an expanse of freshwater with inflows from Chari-Logone and Komadougou-Yobe regimes. It is situated in the heart of Africa between 13° and 15° Latitude North and 13° and 14° Longitude East.

Surface area of Lake Chad Conventional Basin

The surface area has changed with time. From 1964 to 1993, the Lake Chad Basin Commission was made up of Member States which were signatories to the Fort-Lamy (now N'Djamena) Convention of 22nd May 1964, namely Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad.

The Lake Chad Conventional Basin then had a surface area of 427,300 km². It stretched between Latitude 10° and 16° North and Longitude 10° and 18° East .

The 10th Summit of the Heads of State and Government held in July 2000 in N'Djamena accepted Sudan's application for admission as 6th Member State of the Commission. After the usual formalities, the Conventional Basin will once again be extended to include that portion of Sudan's national territory.

The surface area of the Conventional Basin will then be 1,053,455 km². It will stretch between Latitude 5° and 16° North and between Longitude 7° and 25° East.

The Conventional Basin incorporates the upper basins of Logone -Chari and Komadougou-Yobe regimes. Consequently, it encompasses the entire hydrographic network supplying water to Lake Chad, Yaeres and the phreatic water-table around the lake.

Physical setting

The new conventional basin incorporating CAR and Sudan comprises 5 bio-climatic zones from North to South.

Saharan Zone : This zone is located North of isohyet 200 mm with two months of rainy season on average per year in July and August. No agricultural production is possible without irrigation; transhumance animal husbandry is the major activity.

Sahelo-Saharan Zone: Extends from isohyet 200 mm North to isohyet 400 mm. There is, on average, a 3-month long wet season per annum from July to September; transhumance animal husbandry is also a major activity.

Sahelo-Sudanian Zone: Stretches from isohyet 400 mm North to isohyet 600 mm South. Major activities include sedentary and transhumance animal husbandry as well as extensive rainfed agriculture (millet, voanzu and groundnuts).

Sudano-Sahelian Zone: Extends from isohyet 600 mm North to 900 mm South with an average of 6 to 7 months wet season per annum from May to September. Corn, cotton and irrigated rice are cultivated; floodplains are also affected by the climate.

Sudano-Guinean Zone: Stretches from isohyet 900 mm North to 1200 mm South with an 8-month long wet season per year on average . Perennial crops like coffee and cocoa are grown in this area. Thick forests also abound.

Human setting

In 1991, the population of the Conventional Basin was estimated to be 21,944,000 inhabitants, including that of the Central African Republic (CAR). With an average annual growth rate of almost 2.72%, this population was estimated to be 27,912,768 inhabitants (excluding the Sudanese portion) in the year 2001. It is distributed as follows: