  |type = Endorheic |inflow = Chari River |outflow = Soro &amp; Bodélé Depressions |catchment = |basin_countries = Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria |length = |width = |area = 1,350 km² |depth = 1.5 m  |max-depth = 11 m |volume = 72 km³. |shore = 650 km  |elevation = 244 m (800ft)M. Bahy Hefny &quot;Collier's Encyclopedia&quot; (1970) Crowell-Collier Educational Corporation, Library of Congress 70-87149 |islands = |cities = |reference =  }} '''Lake Chad''' (French ''Lac Tchad'') is a historically large, shallow lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the ''Global Resource Information Database'' of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that &quot;the 2007 (satellite) image shows significant improvement over previous years&quot;.[ Atlas of Our Changing Environment] Lake Chad is economically important, providing water to more than 20 million people living in the four countries that surround it (Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria) on the edge of the Sahara Desert.  ==Geography and hydrology== Lake Chad is located mainly in the far west of Chad, bordering on northeastern Nigeria. The Chari River, fed by its tributary the Logone, provides over 90% of Lake Chad's water, with a small amount coming from the Yobe River in Nigeria/Niger. Despite high levels of evaporation the lake is fresh water. Over half of the lake's area is taken up by its many small islands ( including Bogomerom archipelago ), reedbeds and mudbanks, and a belt of swampland across the middle divides the northern and southern halves while the shorelines are largely composed of marshes.  Because Lake Chad is very shallow&amp;mdash;only  at its deepest&amp;mdash;its area is particularly sensitive to small changes in average depth, and consequently it also shows seasonal fluctuations in size of about 1m every year. Lake Chad has no apparent outlet, but its waters percolate into the Soro and Bodélé depressions. The climate is dry most of the year with occasional rains from June to October.  ==History==    The same changes marked more clearly on another map  Lake Chad gave its name to the country of Chad. The name ''Chad'' is a local word meaning &quot;large expanse of water,&quot; in other words, a &quot;lake.&quot;Room, Adrian &quot;African Placenames&quot; (1994) McFarland and Company, ISBN 0-89950-943-6  Lake Chad is believed to be a remnant of a former inland sea which has grown and shrunk with changes in climate over the past 13,000 years. At its largest, around 4000 BC, this lake is estimated to have covered an area of 400,000&amp;nbsp;km², (approx. 154,000 sq miles). Lake sediments appear to indicate dry periods when the lake nearly dried up around 8500 BC, 5500 BC, 2000 BC, and 100 BC.&quot;Truths, Monckton &quot;The Errors in Al Gore's Movie&quot; (2007) Science and public policy institute,   It was considered to be one of the largest lakes in the world when first surveyed by Europeans in 1823.&quot;Funk &amp; Wagnalls New Encyclopedia&quot; (1973) Funk &amp; Wagnalls, Inc., Library of Congress 72-170933 Lake Chad has shrunk considerably since the 1960s when it had an area of more than 26,000&amp;nbsp;km², making its surface the fourth largest in Africa. An increased demand on the lake's water from the local population has likely accelerated its shrinkage over the past 40 years.[ Circle of Blue, June 24, 2008 Vanishing Lake Chad — A Water Crisis in Central Africa]  The size of Lake Chad greatly varies seasonally with the flooding of the wetlands areas. In 1983, Lake Chad was reported to have covered 10,000&amp;nbsp;km²-25,000&amp;nbsp;km² (3,861&amp;nbsp;mi²-9652&amp;nbsp;mi²),&quot;Questionnaire filled by Mr. Olusegun C. Irivboje, Water Resources Section, Lake Chad Basin Commission, N'Djamena&quot; (1983)  name=&quot;International Development Centre 1983&quot;&gt;&quot;Questionnaire filled by Dr. M. Nakashima, International Development Centre of Japan, Tokyo&quot; (1983)  had a maximum depth of 36 feet, and a volume of 72&amp;nbsp;km3 (17.27&amp;nbsp;mi3).  By 2000 its extent had fallen to less than 1,500&amp;nbsp;km².  A 2001 study published in the ''Journal of Geophysical Research'' blamed the lake's retreat largely on overgrazing in the area surrounding the lake, causing desertification and a decline in vegetation. According to CNN senior producer A. Chris Gajilan, &quot;the United Nations Environment Programme says that about half of the lake's decrease is attributable to human water use such as inefficient damming and irrigation methods. The other half of the shrinkage is caused by shifting climate patterns. Anada Tiega of the Lake Chad Basin Commission blames climate change for 50-75% of the water's disappearance.&quot;  Some consider it likely that the lake will shrink further and perhaps even disappear in the course of the 21st century.  Many areas of Lake Chad are wetlands.[ Lake Chad to be fully protected as international wetlands (2010)] Referring to the floodplain as a lake may be misleading, as less than half of Lake Chad is covered by water through an entire year.  A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs, among others.  Lake Chad's volume of 72&amp;nbsp;km³ is very small relative to that of Lake Tanganyika (18,900&amp;nbsp;km³) and Lake Victoria (2,750&amp;nbsp;km³), African lakes with similar surface areas.  , October 1968.]]  .]]  ==Flora== The lake is home to more than 44 species of algae and has large areas of swamp and reedbeds. The floodplains on the southern lakeshore are covered in Yaéré grassland of ''Echinochloa pyramidalis'', ''Vetiveria nigritana'', ''Oryza longistaminata'', and ''Hyparrhenia rufa''.  ==Fauna== The entire Lake Chad basin holds 179 fish species, of which more than half are shared with the Niger River Basin, about half are shared with the Nile River Basin, and about a quarter are shared with the Congo River Basin.Hughes, R. H., and Hughes, J. S. (1992). ''A Directory of African Wetlands.'' IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-949-3 Lake Chad itself holds 85 fish species. Of the 25 endemics in the basin, only ''Brycinus dageti'' is found in the lake itself, and it is perhaps better treated as a dwarf subspecies of ''Brycinus nurse''. This relatively low species richness and virtual lack of endemic fish species contrasts strongly with other large African lakes such as Victoria, Tanganyika and Malawi.Nelson, J. S. (2006). ''Fishes of the World.'' 4th edition. John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc. ISBN 0471250317  There are many floating islands in the lake. It is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including hippopotamus, crocodile (both in decline), and large communities of migrating birds including wintering ducks,  Ruff (''Philomachus pugnax'') and other waterfowl and shore birds. There are two near-endemic birds in the region, the River Prinia (''Prinia fluviatilis'') and the Rusty Lark (''Mirafra rufa''). The shrinking of the lake is threatening nesting sites of the Black Crowned Crane (''Balearica pavonina pavonina''). During the wet season fish move into the mineral rich lake to breed and find food.  ==Threats and preservation== Because of the way it has shrunk dramatically in recent decades the lake has been labeled an ecological catastrophe by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Human population expansion and unsustainable human water extraction from Lake Chad have caused several natural species to be stressed and threatened from declining lake levels. For example decline or disappearance of the endangered Painted Hunting Dog has been noted in the Lake Chad area.C. Michael Hogan. 2009. [ ''Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg]  The shrinking of the lake has also caused several different conflicts to emerge as to which countries that border Lake Chad have the rights to the remaining water. Along with the conflicts that involve the countries, violence is increasing between the lake's dwellers. Farmers and herders want the water for their crops and livestock and are constantly diverting the water. The fishermen however want the remaining water in the lake to stay so they can continue to fish and not have to worry about the lake shrinking more and decreasing their already strained supply of fish. Furthermore the birds and animals in the area are threatened as they are important sources of food for the local human population.  The only protected area is Lake Chad Game Reserve, which covers half of the area next to the lake that belongs to Nigeria. The whole lake has been declared a Ramsar site of international importance.  ===Management of the Lake=== In the 1960s, a plan was proposed to divert the Ubangi River into Lake Chad. The copious amount of water from the Ubangi would revitalize the dying Lake Chad and provide livelihood in fishing and enhanced agriculture to tens of millions of central Africans and Sahelians. Inter-basin water transfer schemes were proposed in the 1980s and 1990s by Nigerian engineer J. Umolu (ZCN Scheme) and Italian firm Bonifica (Transaqua Scheme).[ Journal of Environmental Hydrology, Vol. 7, 1999][ New Scientist, March 23, 1991 Africa at a Watershed (Ubangi - Lake Chad Inter-basin transfer)]Umolu, J. C.; 1990, Macro Perspectives for Nigeria’s Water Resources Planning, Proc. of the First Biennial National Hydrology Symposium, Maiduguri, Nigeria, pp. 218-262(discussion of Ubangi-Lake Chad diversion schemes)The Changing Geography of Africa and the Middle East By Graham Chapman, Kathleen M. Baker, University of London School of Oriental and African Studies, 1992 Routledge[ Combating Climate Induced Water And Energy Deficiencies In West Central Africa (Ubangi - Lake Chad Inter-basin transfer)] In 1994, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) proposed a similar project, and at a March 2008 summit, the heads of state of the LCBC member countries committed to the diversion project.[ Voice of America News, March 28, 2008 African Leaders Team Up to Rescue Lake Chad] In April 2008, the LCBC advertised a request for proposals for a World Bank-funded feasibility study.  