Mr Brahim Mahamat Djamaladine, Chad’s Minister of Environment, Water and Fisheries, has expressed the commitment to fight desertification and drought , stressing that the degradation of land in the country has led to the loss of livelihoods and conflicts among different groups.
Djamaladine who made the declaration in N’Djamena to mark the celebration of the World Day of the Fight Against Desertification and Drought on Wednesday, underlined the importance of the fight against this scourge which threatened life and humanity.
According to Djamaladine, the theme for this year, “Food, Feed, Fibre” highlights the link “and interdependence which exists between the climate, the earth and the natural resources necessary for the existence of living things who happens to be man”.
He said Chad is endowed with immense “natural resources (cultivable land, irrigable soil and flowing water) but that “in spite of all these riches, Chad remains very vulnerable and is among the countries in the world most exposed to the nefarious effects of climate change and its corollaries.”
These vulnerabilities include the rarity of rainfall, the reduction in cultivable land, diminishing wildlife and fishing resources all of which had been heightened by inter-communal conflicts.
Faced with all these situations, the minister said the Chadian government and its technical and financial partners had invested enormous means to fight desertification and drought but that many challenges remained to be overcome.
Djamaladine said to overcome the challenges, the government would embark on fresh initiatives among which was the National Programme for the Restoration of Degraded Soil, the reinforcement of the fight against the destruction of forestry resources and the fight against poaching as well as the recuperation and restoration of all perimetres of afforestation.
He called on all citizens to be more responsible and to take advantage of the day to reflect and conceive strategies to be adopted in order to preserve the natural resources necessary for the existence of the people.
Chad like its neighbours within the Sahel Region is confronted with conflicts over land resources, especially between farmers and herders, particularly in the northern region close to Darfur, Sudan.
In February, 2020, nearly 8,000 Chadians were pushed into Darfur because of inter-communal conflicts, according to United Commissioner for Refugees.
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