Losing the battle against long-term drought

Up to 30 million people are facing a humanitarian disaster as -- Lake Chad -- one of Africa's biggest lakes -- shrinks. A recent report published by the United Nations says that, during the past 50 years Lake Chad has gone from being about as large as the state of Maryland to now covering less than one-fifth of that area.

Once one of the biggest bodies of water in the world, it could disappear entirely in about 20 years, explains the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization. “If that happens it's going to be a disaster,” the report continued.

Experts claim that the Lake Chad basin is one of the most important agriculture heritage sites in the world -- supporting vast ecosystems, migratory birds and more than 20 million people whose livelihood (fishing and farming) depends on the lake.

“It would be a human disaster, a tragedy,” a spokesperson said, “affecting people who are the poorest of the poor."