The ecological catastrophe of  disappearing Lake Chad

According to FAO Director of Land and Water — Parviz Koohafkan — the Lake Chad basin is one of the most important agricultural heritage sites in the world, providing a lifeline to nearly 30 million people in four countries — Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Lake Chad is located in the far west of Chad and the northeast of Nigeria; parts of the lake also extend to Niger and Cameroon. It is fed mainly by the Chari River through the Lagone tributary, which used to provide 90 percent of its water. Disappearing Lake Chad, was once Africa’s largest water reservoir in the Sahel region, covering an area of about 26,000 square kilometers — about the size of the US state of Maryland, and bigger than Israel or Kuwait. Among the 30 million people who depend on it, there is uncertainty as to how much longer the lake will remain and when they will be able to get relief.    

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The rhetoric of a “blue economy” continues

Not only are human activities on land killing our planet, but human pressures on the world's oceans are also. Our oceans contribute indirectly to human nutrition and consumption in various ways, but as long as cumulative human activities continue to increase in the oceans and continue to impact marine ecosystems, which by the way, shows no signs of slowing, "we are in big trouble."  Governance gaps and the lack of a mechanism to create marine-protected areas, along with the absence of regulations, add to these pressures. A new comprehensive analysis from scientists on the state of oceans shows that the largest ocean industry, i.e. the oil and gas sector, is responsible for about one-third of the value of the ocean economy; but sadly, the slow pace of international policymaking gives only a vague hope of a new legal tool in the near future that could steer the blue acceleration towards a more sustainable trajectory. 

Researchers from the Stockholm Resilience Center analyzed 50 years of data from shipping, drilling, deep-sea mining, aquaculture, bioprospecting, and much more — the results can be seen in the One Earth journal.

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Greening the blue: Is it possible? 

With the global blue economy set to grow faster than the general economy, and with the possibility of doubling by 2030 according to Maritime Affairs, greening the blue will very well require unlocking the most powerful leverage points to dramatically improve ocean practices. To accelerate action and promote a more sustainable, manageable blue–ocean economy should only not depend on international ocean governance, but also on every individual on the planet. Certainly, the slowdown in coastal activities like tourism, international shipping, diving, boating, wastewater emissions from unoccupied coastal hotels, and other coastal constructions across our oceans due to COVID-19 has been positive as a result of fewer pressures. With less overfishing and pollution our oceans and lands have been made healthier – well at least it has moved the needle a tiny bit. But COVID-19 has also contributed to the oceans' plastic pollution problem because of the increased use of PPE. Nevertheless, the reality is that greening the blue is possible and COVID-19 is proving this. How we plan to combat the heavy use of plastics ending up in our oceans depends on how well we manage to rethink our relationship with the natural world and act responsibly.

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