Suggested Predictions
Ziibos (13)
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Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow lake in Africa, whose size has varied greatly over the centuries. It is economically very important, providing water to more than 20 million people living in the four countries which surround it - Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. In the 1960s it had an area of more than 26,000 sq km, making it the fourth largest lake in Africa. By 2000 its extent had fallen to less than 1,500 sq km. This is due to reduced rainfall combined with greatly increased amounts of irrigation water being drawn from the lake and the rivers which feed it, the largest being the Chari/ Logone system, which originates in the mountains of the Central African Republic. It seems likely that the lake will shrink further and perhaps even disappear altogether in the course of the 21st century.
A 2001 study blamed the lake's retreat largely on overgrazing in the area surrounding the lake, causing desertification and a decline in vegetation. Will it disappear?
Comments (4)
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In Europe, farmland used to be owned by the commons during the early medieval period. Because no-one was responsible for it, such commonly owned farmland was often low in fertility and yield.
Later on, the commons were divided up and ownership handed out to peasants by the feudal lords, and wonder of wonders - when you own something, you take better care of it.
Now deciding WHO owns a limited resource - that becomes a REAL problem.