Adaptation Strategies to Environmental Change in the Nigeria’s Section of the Chad Basin

The environmental change manifested in terms of drought and desertification in the Lake Chad basin area is characterised by the drastically reduction in the volume of the water in the basin, with serious consequences both at the local and global environment. This therefore demands an immediate attention as such change can no longer sustain the livelihood of the people of the area. A questionnaire was administered to collect primary data on the socio-economic activities and drought coping strategies of the people living in the locations of the Lake Chad basin (the Baga in the north of the basin and Southern Chad project around Marte in the south of the basin). Five communities were randomly selected from the 21 in Baga and another 5 from the 24 in Marte. The populations of these communities were between 2000 and 2500. Thus a sample size of about 2.5 %, (that is 500 people) was taken. The strategies with which local communities are responding to the increasingly unfavourable environment of the basin were evaluated. These were done with a view to providing an understanding of the dynamics of land and water uses in the area.