Africa plans $50bn Congo water diversion to revive shrinking Lake Chad

In 1823, British explorers Hugh Clapperton, Dixon Denham and Walter Oudney were some of the first Europeans to document the lake and the surrounding kingdoms. He was struck at the sight of one of Africa's largest inland lakes. But two centuries later, about 905 of the lake's surface area has shrunk, leaving only a sliver of what was previously an ever-flowing water body covering roughly 25,000 square kilometres. The loss of this lake not only threatens a water source for people but also the livelihoods of about 50 million people in four countries, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. This is why the government has launched a $50 billion ambitious Trans Aqua project that proposes to redirect water from the Congo River Basin to Lake Chad.The reason behind this transformation is climate change which has intensified the pressure on the lake.