Editors’ Choice

2019 Skyscraper Competition
Carlo Alberto Guerriero

Italy

In Africa, in the Sahel regions, the drying of wetlands is proving catastrophic for both biodiversity and the economy of local populations. In fact, the fall in rainfall, exacerbated by the poor management of water by man, is leading to the fight against desertification, and more and more villages are held in the dry grip of the Sahara. All this has pushed thousands of environmental refugees to flee to Europe and caused the emergence of numerous internal conflicts.
Lake Chad is emblematic of the natural and human drama that the Sahel is experiencing. Lake Chad has always been a fundamental habitat for the survival of sub-Saharan populations and an important cultural crossroads. But in just 60 years Lake Chad has lost more than 90% of its surface, currently reaching a size of 2,500 km2, with the forecast of a total disappearance in the coming decades. To determine such a change, as well as a decrease in precipitation, it was the construction of large dams on the Yobe rivers (in Kano in Nigeria) and Logone (in Maga in Cameroon) the main tributary of the Chari. Both rivers have lost almost 80% of their flow, with the consequent loss of alluvial areas necessary for agriculture, a reduction of pastures and a strong limitation of fishing activities. For millennia the Lake Chad basin has been subject to great variations, but today unlike in the past, about 10 million people survive thanks to the lak...