Page 42 - CIWA AR25

West and Central Africa

LAKE CHAD

WATER SECURITY

CONTEXT PROGRESS

The Lake Chad region, spanning Cameroon, Chad, the Central Groundwater Legislation Comparative Assessment
African Republic, Niger, and Nigeria, remains highly fragile, with

persistent insecurity driven by armed nonstate actors. Large In FY25, the Lake Chad Water Security project made significant
numbers of people have been displaced, with the crisis deepening strides in strengthening the governance of groundwater
in FY25 along with constraints to humanitarian access. resources across the basin. The team conducted a comprehensive
comparative study of groundwater-relevant national legislation,
Climate change continues to exacerbate vulnerabilities in focusing on the strategic importance of groundwater in the region
the Lake Chad Basin, with increased frequency and severity and the critical role of robust legal and institutional frameworks. A
of floods and droughts and erratic rainfall patterns. These national assessment for Nigeria, with comparisons to France and

environmental changes directly impact agricultural productivity Spain for benchmarking against best practices, was completed in
and traditional livelihoods, intensifying competition over scarce October 2024, complementing earlier assessments for Cameroon,
resources including water and contributing to social tensions. Chad, the Central African Republic, and Niger. These assessments
Water resources in the basin remain under severe stress, with culminated in a comparative analysis and a best-practices

fluctuating lake volumes and challenges in managing shared Guidance Note finalized in December 2024.

waters. While temporary surges in lake surface area have

occurred from flooding, the long-term trend points toward The comparative study examined commonalities and

declining water security and quality, affecting agriculture, fishing, differences in the regulatory approaches of the five Lake Chad

livelihoods, and infrastructure. Basin countries, identifying strengths and weaknesses. Notably,
the assessment revealed substantial similarities in normative

CIWA and World Bank efforts to build resilience, including approaches but also highlighted significant differences in the level
community‑driven adaptation and cross‑border cooperation, of detail and scope, pointing to regulatory gaps and inconsistencies.
are ongoing but hampered by persistent conflict. The Key recommendations included strengthening implementation,

strengthening of policies such as the Lake Chad Basin Water monitoring, and enforcement capacities; integrating human rights

Charter reflects a regional commitment to equitable water to water and customary water rights into statutory frameworks;
management, though effective implementation requires improved ensuring equity and protection of vulnerable groups; improving
technical investment and political will. cross-sectoral coordination; and fostering participatory planning
and legally binding management instruments, drawing on best
The Lake Chad Water Security initiative assesses the current practices from France, Spain, and Niger.
state of water security and transboundary cooperation in the
Lake Chad Basin at the political (vision), institutional (roles), and The best‑practices study and Guidance Note serve multiple
technical (investments) levels. It is divided into two pillars: Pillar A purposes. They are intended to stimulate national policy debate
focuses on building the analytical and institutional foundation for aimed at legislative and institutional reform, provide a benchmark
water security and informs the identification and design of activities for similar studies in other regions and globally where groundwater

under Pillar B, which focuses on catalyzing future investments. resources are of strategic importance, guide donor investments

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