President Muhammadu Buhari will in February, 2018 organize an international conference on saving the Lake Chad.
According to a statement on Tuesday, December 26, 2017 issued by one of the presidential spokespersons, Garba Shehu, the conference is to revitalized the basin’s ecosystem for sustainable livelihood, security and development.
Shehu said this was the first time an international conference on Lake Chad is being organized by the six member countries of the region.
The three-day conference, according to him, will consist of two days of technical sessions and will hold between February 26-28, 2018, in Abuja.
He said the meeting was expected to have in attendance all the presidents and heads of government of the member-states, namely Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic and Libya.
“The main objective of the international conference is to create global awareness on the socio-economic and environmental challenges arising from the shrinkage of the Lake Chad, the threat to livelihoods including insecurity with a view to developing a comprehensive program for action to save the lake from extinction,” the Aso Rock statement read.
“Specifically, the conference is expected to discuss and develop consensus on the different options to restore Lake Chad, including the Inter-Basin Water Transfer project from the Ubangi River in Central Africa to the Lake Chad.”
