Beyond climate change: The effects of deforestation on food security in the Lake Chad region

Abstract

Deforestation of the Lake Chad region (LCR) has led to the loss of vegetation and biodiversity in the area. This situation has not only exacerbated the adverse effects of rising aridity in the region but has resulted in its desertification. Agricultural activities are endangered as a result of this unhealthy practice. Extant studies have largely focused on the nexus between climate change and food insecurity in the LCR without adequate attention on the impact of deforestation. The study examined how deforestation in concert with climate change has affected food security in the LCR. Data were generated from secondary sources and analysed using qualitative descriptive method. The theory of Anthropogenic Global Warming was adopted. The study found, among others, that the increasing deforestation of the LCR’s vegetation is implicated in food insecurity menacing the area. It recommended, inter alia, an effective implementation of the African Union’s Great Green Wall initiative aimed at ensuring strategic reforestation of the region in order to attenuate the adverse effects of climate change and restore the region’s viability for agricultural production.