The Lake Chad Basin faces severe environmental challenges: deforestation, land degradation, recurring droughts, and increasing pressure on natural resources.
Carbon, present in the atmosphere as CO₂, is a major greenhouse gas driving climate change. Its impacts are wide-ranging:
- Climatic: rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, irregular rainfall, and flooding.
- Ecological: biodiversity loss, desertification, and soil degradation.
- Social and economic: declining agricultural yields, falling incomes, food insecurity, and growing conflicts over natural resources.
In this context, women play a vital role in reducing carbon emissions and protecting their communities. Often described as “umbrellas,” they safeguard the soil, restore land, capture carbon through trees and plants, while ensuring food and energy security for their families.
The Lake Chad Basin Conservation Project (LCBCP) recognizes and strengthens this role, providing women with the means to become central actors in the fight against climate change. Its interventions across Ramsar sites in Chad, Niger, and Cameroon are built around three pillars:
- Nature-based climate solutions (NbCS),
- Gender equality and economic empowerment,
- Social cohesion and environmental peacebuilding.
This blog series highlights the concrete impact of women on climate and community resilience in the Lake Chad Basin. We begin today in Chad.
Article 1 – Women and Their Contribution to Combating Global Warming
Under the burning sun of Fianga and Mandelia, women adjust their wraps and headscarves, hoes in hand. In front of them, young tree seedlings break through the sandy soil: Faidherbia albida, which naturally fertilizes the soil; Acacia laeta, drought-resistant; Gmelina arborea, a fast-growing tree; and Cassia siamea, valued for firewood and shade. They smile, remembering when the land was nothing but dust and stones. Today, thanks to their collective effort, the landscape is coming back to life.
In the Lake Chad Basin, women are on the frontlines of climate change. Far from remaining passive, they are becoming agents of solutions. With the support of the LCBCP, they organize, train, and lead reforestation and land restoration initiatives.
In these same localities, 14 community groups are now engaged in restoration activities—seven of them led entirely by women. Their involvement goes far beyond planting: they mobilize youth, raise awareness among husbands, oversee monitoring, and ensure every tree survives. Women’s solidarity has become a driving force for change. They water, weed, and protect the trees from wandering animals, ensuring that each effort succeeds.
Planting for Climate and for Life
Every tree planted is a shield against climate change. Its roots hold water, its leaves purify the air, and its shade brings relief to villages. Yet the tree’s benefits are not only ecological—it also represents capital for the future. Trees provide sustainable firewood, nourish families with fruit, offer fodder for livestock, and stand as a legacy for children.
Numbers that Speak
As of 2025, activities carried out under the LCBCP have resulted in:
- the restoration of 940 hectares of degraded land,
- the planting of 93,972 seedlings,
- and strengthened resilience for thousands of families.
These are not just numbers. They reflect the determination of women who refuse to yield to desert encroachment, choosing instead to write a new story for their land.
Climate change is a global challenge, but the LCBCP offers a local response driven by those too often overlooked: rural women. By planting trees, they remove carbon from the atmosphere, restore dignity, protect life, and pass on to future generations a land capable of nourishing and sheltering them.Their commitment shows that, in the face of climate change, women are at the heart of the solutions for building a healthier planet.
This blog was written by Annicette Kemneloun, Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist with the Lake Chad Basin Conservation Project (LCBCP).
The Lake Chad Basin Conservation Project is funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by Alinea International, in collaboration with the Lake Chad Basin Commission and several other partners.
