| Project Detail |
Since 1960, the maximum seasonal expansion of Lake Chad has shrunk from 30,000 sq km to around 2,500 sq km. Climate variations, population growth, dam building, large-scale irrigation projects in the catchment area, and the extensive extraction of groundwater have all contributed to a reduction in the size of the lake and its capacity for regeneration. Around 37 million people live in the region of the Chad Lake basin, most of them farmers, livestock farmers and fishing communities. The disappearance of the available water resources is causing the decline of the fisheries and threatening biodiversity. Additional new settlements built on the dried-out lakebed are increasing the pressure on the aquifer system due to increased agricultural production. Slash-and-burn agriculture encourages desertification. These factors are leading to food insecurity and social tensions; they are worsening poverty and prompting migration trends. Founded in 1964, the Lake Chad Basin Commission is charged with overseeing and coordinating water projects and protecting the natural resources. It is responsible for regulating and monitoring water usage, and acts as a mediator in cases of dispute. It is the only institution accepted by all six of the lake states for the resolution of any cross-border problems that arise. The programme ‘Sustainable water resources management for Lake Chad’ was launched to support the Commission in coping with its varied challenges. Objective The efficacy, efficiency and know-how of the Lake Chad Basin Commission have been strengthened for the long term. Approach This project, in which GIZ and the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) are cooperating with the Lake Chad Basin Commission, focuses on the provision of advisory services to the Commission. To achieve sustainability, the Commission works independently, though with the support of GIZ and BGR, to carry out the activities that are decided upon collectively within the programme. Organisational advice and knowledge management (development and adaptation of the existing information and database system) have been identified as the main areas in which the Commission should receive support in order to be able to fulfil its tasks on a sustained basis. The reorganisation of the Commission, which first began in 2009, has so far failed to accommodate the expectations of the lake states. The current status of reform implementation is therefore being evaluated by the project as one of its organisational development activities. The project will conduct a SWOT analysis and develop scenarios, in order to improve the organisational structure. Running parallel to this will be a change management process intended to improve the internal and external culture of communication. The introduction of a collective planning, monitoring and evaluation system by the Commission and its donors will allow greater efficacy and functionality of the organisation, and of its counterparts in the member states. This will increase transparency, and with it good governance. A comprehensive knowledge management system, including the development of a website and communications platform, will support internal and external communications between the Commission, the donors and the responsible institutions (focal structures) in the member states, while also serving to keep the general public informed. With the adaptation of the existing data and information system to meet the needs of annual and biennial reporting, the Commission will be able to respond to the information needs of the member states and the general public. Results achieved so far The consistently applied advisory services are showing their first successes. A process of change has been triggered at the management level, which is bringing benefits to the employees of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and also improving its public image. An improved culture of internal communication is increasing the levels of transparency and efficiency. Using its updated website, the Commission is able to keep the public sufficiently well informed with the latest news, while raising its own profile. Visibility is also achieved through exchanges with European cross-border commissions, such as the Rhine and Danube Commissions. Capacity development activities have led to the instigation of strategic committees and expert working groups. The committees are improving knowledge management (internal information flows), encouraging strategic planning and monitoring as well as internal communication and cooperation, and they are promoting communication with national institutions (focal structures) and donors. |
