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Over the decades, with the surge of non-state actors- Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), about 17 million people have been affected by violence in north-eastern Nigeria, northern Cameroon, western Chad and south-east Niger comprising the Lake Chad Basin (LCB). The freshwater lake, one of the largest in Africa, shrunk by 90 percent and has now become the most volatile region in Africa.
Illustration by The Geostrata
This intersectional landscape of water, food, livelihood insecurity, human mobility, and erosion of human rights in the transboundary basin has a causal effect on escalating conflicts and regional insecurity. That said, inadequate attention given to climate change has incited forced displacement of civilian populations.
This article aims to address viable pragmatic solutions by pursuing tailored region-specific approaches, including the influential role of dedicated international institutions, local peace committees, and women leadership, which promote security and human rights protection, integrate environmental sustainability in general, and promote the 'Hydrodiplomacy' of LCB in particular.
The article also focuses on state interventions, negotiations, and mediation in the region to strengthen community resilience and mitigate threats to territorial integrity.
ADDRESSING THE CONFLICT
The conflicts in the Lake Chad Basin are helping us understand new conflict dynamics. Inter-state actors influenced traditional conflicts. However, today, the conflicts witnessed are mostly intra-state, multifaceted crises with instances of political instability and violent attacks with non-state armed groups- Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) leading to a substantial loss of life, more than 2000 reported protection cases (rape, abuse, harassment, etc.).
An alarming humanitarian crisis continues to predominate North-Eastern Nigeria, North Cameroon, Western Chad, and South-East Niger, with 11.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, where more than 3.1 million people were forcefully displaced, half of them children.
Even though organisations such as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and NGOs like Action Against Hunger and International Rescue Committee (IRC) are highly active in the region and provide essential health care, food distribution, and psychological support to those affected by violence and displacement, the region remains under-funded.
It lacks infrastructure, which obstructs timely aid and the logistical network. Moreover, the constant security threat posed by Boko Haram and ISWAP for aid workers is reducing their operational capacity in the conflict-affected areas.
Although state intervention is inevitable for security and healthcare, categorising the functioning non-state entities worsens the negotiations and mediation efforts by the state.
Secours Catholique et Développement (SECADEV) and UNDP's Regional Stabilization Facility (RSF) can fund local infrastructural projects for water access and sustainable use of resources. Moreover, tracking, monitoring and sharing real-time data and information in the Chad- Congo equation can assist in broader analysis and reporting to the stakeholders.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES
Climate change is compounding the above challenges. Even though Lake Chad's shrinkage has slowed, the population is still highly affected by uncertain seasonal and inter-annual rainfall variability. This interaction of climate and conflict undermines people's day-to-day jobs and lives, reducing their ability to adapt, and the military restricts their movement.
For the young population living around the lake, unemployment and underemployment are endemic and pose a grave threat to their resilience and one of the primary reasons for joining armed opposition groups.
Therefore, climate change has to be tackled as a part of peace-building efforts in the region. Climate and conflict-sensitive livelihoods can provide young men and women employment opportunities, including new climate-resilient farming approaches to diversify rural income.
Bringing scientific and traditional knowledge together to fund initiatives for women-led community mapping, like 3D Participatory Mapping, has become an engine for sustainable livelihood and stability.
These maps trace exact water boundaries and identify resources around the place they live for the community to access peacefully.
This has not only resulted in mitigating conflicts and enhanced cooperation among farmers and pastoralists but has also led to the building up of local governance nexus with the state.
AFRICA'S HYDRODIPLOMACY
The lake basin is a significant water artery in Central Africa. The drying up of the lake region has protracted complex emergencies and directly or indirectly severely impacted communities of farmers and pastoral populations living in vulnerable conditions. This has led to water-stressed induced migration and conflict episodes linked to long-term governance deficits.
Water security has been threatened by increased population, hydroclimatic variability, and fast-changing water demand-supply dynamics. Since the valuable land becomes available as the water recedes, it has had far-reaching implications for regions bordering the lake. An estimated 6% loss in the four regions and a 9% loss, particularly in Chad, has affected the country most negatively, impacting the economic resilience and welfare of the lake's resources.
However, Hydrodiplomacy can be viewed as a tool for consensus-building and supporting long-term regional water governance plans and policies for states with shared water-related challenges. Pluralistic Issues of transboundary cooperation, lack of clarity on the 'complex loop' of water-migration-conflict, clash of water uses and sharing protocols between mainstream and migrant populations, and climate change are strenuous to address but possible with dedicated committees led by women and youth.
IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN LEADERSHIP
The impact of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin countries on women and girls has been well-documented with particular intensity. Women and girls have been used as suicide bombers.
In 2014, nearly 276 Chibok schoolgirls in Nigeria were abducted; 2.4 million displaced women were subjected to sexual exploitation for accessing food and non-food items and forced marriages; and if they escaped, they often faced stigmatisation.
Gender inequality is, nonetheless, deep-seated, especially in the rural areas of the basin, where they are generally in charge of less lucrative agricultural practices such as subsistence food production for household consumption, which makes it difficult for them to access credit.
Solutions like Providing young female peacebuilders opportunities for global learning and sensitising their parents to promote female education for their active future participation in conflict resolution and economic activities can elevate their social position.
Training them to combat malnutrition and advanced breeding and sustainable farming techniques can result in their elevated autonomy and decision-making role in the household. Women leaders in the region, like Malam Issa Kolo and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, are the torchbearers of the women-led development in LCB and have contributed to sustaining food security, training, and community mapping initiatives in the region.
The decades of inter and intra conflicts and exploitation in the Lake Chad region have aggravated the humanitarian crisis of the nations adjoining the region. Negotiations involving active state participation are necessary. The affirmative inference is the collaborative intervention of international institutions, NGOs, and dedicated funds to improve the population's livelihood conditions in a continuously changing climate.
However, complete and timely data sharing remains a challenge. Remarkable cooperation between communities of pastoralists and farmers has been achieved. It continues to be achieved through women-led local committees drawing community maps and local charters whenever a conflict arises.
This grassroots participation of communities in decision-making is crucial to balancing complex geopolitical relations, understanding the effects of the crises and fostering resilient communities.
Therefore, funding these efforts can accelerate infrastructural development. Enhancing hydro diplomacy and investing in climate-resilient farming and infrastructure can support peace-building and transform the region from a crisis zone to a sustainable recovery model.
BY SHAINA ARORA
CENTRE FOR DIPLOMACY & INNOVATION
TEAM GEOSTRATA
Great analysis on regional instability in the Lake Chad region.