In Chad, Climate Change Is Already Reality

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In Chad, the country rated most in peril to climate vulnerability; climate change is the reality. Chad sees high poverty, frequent conflicts, droughts, and floods.

Around 40 million people depend on Lake Chad. Yet, the lake has nearly disappeared over the last 50 years. The shrinking lake forces men to leave their communities during the dry season to look for work in the city, leaving women and children behind to manage the crops.

The drought diminishing Lake Chad — from 1973 to 2001, primarily in Chad, Central Africa. Shown in a composite of NASA satellite images.
The drought diminishing Lake Chad — from 1973 to 2001, primarily in Chad, Central Africa. Shown in a composite of NASA satellite images. The large image is a composite of photos taken with en:Landsat-7. Images courtesy NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio and Landsat 7 Project Science Office.

Across the Sahel desert, many farmers are reviving an old technique called Zaï, which involves digging pits to catch rainwater and sowing crops in the pits. The method concentrates nutrients and can increase crop yields by up to 500%.

Chad also struggles with poverty, with the fourth-highest poverty rate in the world. Around 87% of Chadians are poor, according to the Multidimensional Poverty Index, which factors in health, education, and living standards. Further, 63% of the population are “destitute,” the most extreme category of poverty. The size of the destitute population is also the fourth highest in the world.

Climate change will make life increasingly harder, making the changing climate reality even more real. Chad will be hotter and arider, yielding lower crop yields and worse pasture.

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is a Mbororo pastoralist and President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT). In this video, she explains what it’s like to live in Chad, where the effects of climate change are reality.

The Swiss Alps Are Changing

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The Swiss Alps are suffering the effects of climate change. As permafrost zones (rocks and soil that used to be frozen permanently) melt, they have caused massive rock slides.

The famous mountains, The Eiger and Matterhorn, have been hit by rockslides. Villages are also impacted. In 2003, the town of Pontresina built a huge dam to protect itself from mud and rock slides.

Switzerland’s Alpine region is right now in the grip of a climate disaster, as warmer temperatures have seen glaciers shrink by 10 percent in the last five years.

Biodome Fruit Trees: A Sustainable Food Source

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Biodome grown and nurtured fruit trees offer a sustainable food source. A series of biodome video teach viewers how to maximize growth potential and minimize maintenance by planting long-lived food-producing fruit trees. The video series feature Daley’s Fruit Tree Nursery.

Daley’s Fruit Tree Nursery is a family-run business that grows fruit year-round via their Biodome. The business was founded by Greg Daley 25 years ago. He wanted to start a fruit tree nursery that supplied subtropical fruit, nut and rainforest trees across Australia.

Over the years, the nursery has survived a number of droughts and economic downturns. Downturns have been viewed as challenges to improve business systems, such as the installation of water recycling and sand filtration system.

Video from Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery introducing their Biodome series.

The videos teach how to grow fruit all year round with extreme micro-climate change by creating a multi-layered perennial dwarf food forest ecosystem.