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LeMonde
06-08-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
Lake Chad residents caught between Boko Haram and rising waters
René Magritte would likely have enjoyed painting this iron gate, which stands in the middle of the water, reminiscent of the half-open door to the ocean depicted in his painting La Victoire ("The Victory"). For Mahamat Mbomi, however, it is a defeat. This dreamlike landscape represents the annihilation of years of work and the loss of his savings. "The sorghum, the watermelon, the melon... Everything is lost," said the landowner. The enclosure and the gate were supposed to keep animals away from his crops. He never imagined the invader would be liquid. "There hasn't been water here since Tombalbaye died!" he exclaimed, referring to Chad's first president, who passed away in 1975. For him and thousands of other farmers, the arrival of the water was anything but a blessing. Located on the edge of the Sahara, Lake Chad was long thought to be drying up. In reality, it has been refilling and expanding due to climate change, worsening food and security crisis on shores already battered for more than a decade by Boko Haram jihadists. Garmadji Sangar, head of the studies division at the Lake Development Corporation (SODELAC, a public institution), sees this change each morning when he measures the water level at the Bol hydrological observation station, known to locals as a small beach for swimming and washing clothes. The flood gauge has become unusable since a careless hippopotamus sat on it. Unfazed, this day, Sangar set up his optical level amid a crowd of children competing in diving contests. He frowned, visibly concerned by what he saw through the viewfinder. An 11-centimeter rise in one year Inside the SODELAC offices, deserted corridors, broken cabinets and a lack of electricity serve as reminders that the institution has seen better days. Sangar made a quick calculation and searched his archives. The result was indisputable: The lake level has risen by 11 centimeters compared to last year. "That's huge!" exclaimed Florence Sylvestre, a paleoclimatologist and research director at the French Research Institute for Development (IRD), seconded to the University of N'Djamena and a specialist on Lake Chad. "We haven't seen that since the 1960s." Back then, the lake covered an area of 25,000 km 2 before beginning to recede, a process accelerated by severe droughts. It ultimately lost 90% of its surface area by the 1990s. The international community grew alarmed at the possibility of its disappearance. "That was a mistake, because the hydrological cycle then accelerated," said Sylvestre. The warming of the oceans has led to increased evaporation, resulting locally in heavier rainfall, and with dramatic consequences for farmers. "The rural system is being upended," confirmed Sangar. "Herders are losing their pastures, and their livestock leave the transhumance routes and trample the fields. The number of land disputes has exploded in recent years." With a stern look topped by a red keffiyeh, Mahamat Alhadji Adam, armed with a lance engraved with arabesques, seemed to be preparing for war. "It's only to scare off the animals," he reassured, keeping a watchful eye on the land inherited from his great-great-grandparents – and on the few cattle nearby. Researchers anticipate even more severe flooding, as the lake acts as a barometer for climate change. It collects rainfall from a watershed larger than France and Belgium combined. With no outlet and due to its shallow depth, the slightest variation in volume transforms this landscape that's impossible to map. Ever-shifting tongues of sand shape and destroy its islands. The lake could expand by another 30% by 2040. Farmers have been pushed back inland, forced to cut down the last trees in the area – paradoxically, the humidification of the Sahel is accelerating its desertification. 'The terrorists rule the water' Amid a sandy landscape, the village of Kiskawa Dine appears like a field of ruins swept by a strong wind. On the ground, the charred remains of straw huts form black circles. "This was my home," said Mahamat Abakar Sidick, the former chief of this ghost village. "We lived peacefully, but as the water rose, Boko Haram's attacks by canoe increased in the region. So, one morning in December 2024, we decided to flee. That very evening, the jihadists took over our hamlet, then the army came and burned everything [to drive them out]. The Chadian soldiers control the land, but the terrorists rule the water." Late in the morning, the sun glistened on the arm of the lake surrounding the village of Bibi Barkalia, about 100 kilometers south of Kiskawa Dine. A sense of serenity hung in the air, at odds with the security situation. Ever since the islands have become inaccessible due to insecurity, "the fishermen have stayed close to the villages, and the price of fish has increased fivefold," said Aristide Badoum, program manager for the NGO Concern. Fishers have been victims of both the insecurity caused by Boko Haram and global warming. In the distance, figures moved about in a canoe, forcefully casting large nets. Overhead, a flock of birds circled in hopes of getting their share. Adam Tielou, head of the women fishmongers' association in the village, dumped a dozen wriggling tilapia into an aluminum basin, while her colleagues sharpened their knives for scaling. "Some to sell fresh, some to smoke!" one of them said proudly. Here, they rely on processing to compensate for the dwindling fish stocks. A bag of smoked fish, easy to store in a country where less than 1% of the rural population has access to electricity, can fetch up to €100. "It's a booming business," said Badoum, who, after helping structure the cooperative, is now trying to get it to adopt new solar-powered electric dryers. The operation's success was visible on the faces of the women and in the sweetness of the tea offered to visitors. Solar-powered irrigation A few kilometers away, the chief of Mane village was absorbed in watching an okra shoot a few centimeters from the ground. A miracle on this sandy soil, as the rainy season had not yet begun. "For three years, floods have ravaged our crops along the shores. This is the first time anything has grown here!" he said. The residents have been trained and equipped by the NGO Concern, which set up a solar-powered irrigation system so that the seeds would be more resilient. "This sun that burns our skin is finally good for something!" joked Badoum. "No more waiting for the rains, which have become too unpredictable." On the return journey, he stopped the vehicle to show "the miracle of the lake." Between two arid, white plateaus ran a broad vein of emerald green. "This is one of the polders developed by the state," he explained, pointing to the idyllic strip of black, rich earth where hectares of corn were flourishing. "During the flood season, it's submerged by a system of sluices, which are closed before sowing. This gives an idea of the region's agricultural potential. The solutions to climate change already exist; all that's needed is a good development policy to expand them and eradicate hunger." The humanitarian worker paused and allowed himself to dream of a lake restored to prosperity, where agriculture would once again be a more obvious path for young people than joining an armed group.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Building Bridges Across the Atlantic: Bordeaux and L.A.'s 60-Year Bond
We have so much to learn from one other. The city of Bordeaux, where I have been Mayor since 2020, has been twinned with Los Angeles since October 26, 1964. On that day, the mayors of our two cities, Sam Yorty and Jacques Chaban-Delmas, signed an agreement on behalf of all their fellow citizens, reading: 'On this day, we solemnly pledge to maintain permanent ties between our city councils, to promote the spirit of innovation and expansion that drives our two cities, to foster cultural, economic, and human relations between our residents in order to cultivate, through greater mutual understanding, a strong sense of Western fraternity, and to join forces to contribute, to the best of our ability, to the success of this necessary endeavor for peace and prosperity: Franco-American friendship.'I recently spent a week in the City of Angels, in honor of this friendship, heading a delegation from Bordeaux composed of businesses, academics, and institutional representatives, with the goal of deepening our economic, social, ecological, democratic, and supportive alliance. At a time of particular geopolitical uncertainty and diplomatic tension between the United States and the European Union, my visit was a way of reaffirming the enduring nature of this 'Franco-American friendship'. The bonds between Bordeaux and Los Angeles, each capital of its own 'South West', provide a local illustration of the ties that unite our two nations, which have been allies since the War of Independence. The ship La Victoire set sail from the port of Bordeaux in 1777, carrying the Marquis de La Fayette, who would go on to help George Washington win independence. And it was in Bordeaux, in 1790, that your young nation opened its first consulate in the world. This visit was an opportunity to reiterate our desire for the US Consulate in Bordeaux to remain open, as expressed unanimously by all the local authorities in our region. This desire is all the more justified given the strength of our current relations, which were demonstrated by our fruitful and constructive visit to your city. We had planned this trip for spring 2024, to mark the 60th anniversary of our twinning. However, the unexpected general elections in France and the presidential elections in the United States, followed by the terrible fires in Los Angeles in early 2025, meant that the trip was postponed twice. After welcoming a delegation led by the President of the City Council, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, to Bordeaux in September 2024, we finally made our visit during the last week of April. Our discussions confirmed the enduring spirit of friendship and solidarity that stems from the long history shared by our two cities and our two local stakeholders from Bordeaux who accompanied me came back impressed by the meetings we had together in Los Angeles. We found many points of convergence with your local stakeholders on innovation and new technologies, but also on student and researcher mobility, culture, sports, tourism, gastronomy, and wine. Our two cities are both highly attractive and world-renowned destinations, and we have many overlapping interests and areas of expertise to share. We came back from Los Angeles with some exciting plans and new look forward to further strengthening our relationship in the shared interest of our two cities, and to enriching our public policies through our exchanges, particularly as we face climate and social challenges. This was one of the highlights of our official visit: we had some very useful discussions on the ecological transition and the resilience of our cities, especially as both our regions have been affected by recent fires, with the Gironde region experiencing major fires in the summer of 2022, just a short distance from Bordeaux. Although our cities are not the same size, they can be an inspiration to one another, as they are both faithful to the 'innovative spirit' mentioned in the twinning agreement.I particularly admire your city's determination and remarkable leadership in strengthening and coordinating existing measures to address social challenges. This is particularly true in the case of homelessness and, of course, in the aftermath of the fires. We also share the same challenge of providing a rapidly growing population with more affordable, high-quality housing that has a low environmental footprint and is resilient to the new climate context. In terms of adapting to climate change, I was particularly interested in the measures taken by the city of Los Angeles to raise awareness and inform residents about the risks associated with heat just a few days, we were able to give substance to the 'city diplomacy' that is so important to us. This subnational diplomacy provides concrete, local responses to global problems that our governments so often debate in ways that are far removed from the daily lives of residents. While diplomatic tensions are a natural part of political discussions, it is crucial that we continue our long-standing cooperation. I am proud to be doing so with Mayor Karen Bass, just as Bordeaux's stakeholders are proud to strengthen their interactions with their partners in Los Angeles. Together, we are proving that it is possible and preferable to create bridges and cooperation rather than walls and tariffs.
