Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Environmental Protection
With two national parks, five game reserves, and one Wetland of International
Importance, 9 % of Chad's natural areas are protected. The chief environmental
problem is increasing desertification after a decade marked by below-normal rainfall
and periodic droughts. Warring factions in Chad have damaged the environment
and hampered the efforts of the government to address environmental problems for
25 years. Locust swarms periodically cause crop damage. The availability of fresh
water is also a major problem. Safe drinking water is available to 31 % of urban
dwellers and 26 % of the rural population. About 82 % of the nation's renewable
water resources are used for farming activity.
Elephant herds were reported greatly decimated in the 1970s. As of the 2000,
endangered species in Chad included the black rhinoceros, Dallon's gerbil, and
African wild ass. The Sahara oryx, also called the scimitar-horned orynx, is extinct
in the wild. Of 134 species of mammals in Chad, 14 are threatened with extinction.
Three bird species out of 370 are also threatened. One reptile out of five and
five plant species out of 1,600 are in danger of extinction. In 1986 approximately
83 % of the active population were farmers or herders. This sector of the economy
accounted for almost half of GDP. With the exception of cotton, some small-scale
sugar production, and a portion of the peanut crop, Chad's agriculture consisted of
subsistence food production. The types of crops that were grown and the locations
of herds were determined by considerable variations in Chad's climate.
5LandU e
As with most Third World countries, control of the land determines agricultural
practices. There are three basic types of land tenure in Chad. The first is collective
ownership by villages of croplands in their environs. In principle, such lands belong
to a village collectively under the management of the village chief or the traditional
chef des terres (chief of the lands). Individual farmers hold inalienable and
transmittable use rights to village lands, so long as they, their heirs, or recognized
representatives cultivate the land. Outsiders can farm village lands only with the
authorization of the village chief or chef des terres . Renting village farmlands is
possible in some local areas but is not traditional practice. Private ownership is the
second type of tenure, applied traditionally to the small plots cultivated in wadis
or oases. Wells belong to individuals or groups with rights to the land. Ownership
of fruit trees and date palms in the oases is often separate from ownership of the
land; those farmers who plant and care for trees own them. State ownership is
the third type, primarily for large enterprises such as irrigation projects. Under the
management of parastatal or government employees, farmers enter into contractual
arrangements, including paying fees, for the use of state lands and the benefits of
improved farming methods.
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