Inter Press Service: Approaching the Lake Chad basin from Gulfe, a small locality 45 kilometres from Cameroon's Far North Regional capital Maroua, the atmosphere of despair is palpable: dusty air, fierce and unrelenting winds, wilting plants and sand dunes suggest that this once lush area is undergoing a terrible change.
Nothing breaks the expanse of sparse vegetation but the occasional withered tree and some scorched shrubs.
Bordered by Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria, Lake Chad once spanned 25,000 square kilometres...