During a visit to Chad last week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Lake Chad, one of the most striking symbols of Africa’s deteriorating environment. “I came here to visit the lake to see for myself the damage caused by desertification and global warming,” Ban said. In less than 30 years, Lake Chad has shrunk from 25,000km2 to 2,000km2 today. Some 25 million people still live around the basin, many looking out on grounded boats and barren land which was once under water.