Editing Chad (section)

== Geography ==
{{main|Geography of Chad}}
[[File:Chad sat.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Chad is divided into three distinct zones, the [[Sudanian savanna]] in the south, the [[Sahara]] in the north, and the [[Sahelian]] belt in the centre]]
Chad is a large landlocked country spanning north-central [[Africa]]. It covers an area of {{convert|1284000|km2|sqmi}},<ref name=area/> lying between latitudes [[7th parallel north|7°]] and [[24th parallel north|24°N]], and [[13th meridian east|13°]] and [[24th meridian east|24°E]],<ref name="EB">"Chad". ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. (2000)</ref> and is the [[List of countries and outlying territories by total area|twentieth-largest country]] in the world. Chad is, by size, slightly smaller than [[Peru]] and slightly larger than South Africa.<ref name=cia>CIA, "Chad", 2009</ref><ref>"[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html Rank Order – Area] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209041128/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html |date=9 February 2014 }}". ''The World Factbook''. United States Central Intelligence Agency.</ref>

Chad is bounded to the north by [[Libya]], to the east by [[Sudan]], to the west by [[Niger]], [[Nigeria]] and [[Cameroon]], and to the south by the [[Central African Republic]]. The country's capital is {{convert|1060|km|mi}} from the nearest seaport, [[Douala]], Cameroon.<ref name="EB"/><ref name="UNHCHR">"[http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/48f4be12f6c55e5a802565cd005d4e0e?Opendocument Chad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929155418/http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/48f4be12f6c55e5a802565cd005d4e0e?Opendocument |date=29 September 2007 }}". Human Rights Instruments. [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]]. 12 December 1997.</ref> Because of this distance from the sea and the country's largely [[desert]] climate, Chad is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".<ref>{{cite journal | journal = South African Journal of Economics | volume = 60 | issue= 4 | pages = 246–255 |date = December 1992 | title = S.H. Frankel: Reminiscences of an Economist (Review Article) | author = Botha, D.J.J.|doi=10.1111/j.1813-6982.1992.tb01049.x |issn=0038-2280}}</ref>

The dominant physical structure is a wide basin bounded to the north and east by the [[Ennedi Plateau]] and [[Tibesti Mountains]], which include [[Emi Koussi]], a dormant [[volcano]] that reaches {{convert|3414|m|ft|0}} above sea level. [[Lake Chad]], after which the country is named (and which in turn takes its name from the [[Kanuri language|Kanuri]] word for "lake"<ref>Kperogi, F.A. (2015) ''Glocal English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English in a Global World.'' Peter Lang, {{ISBN|978-1-4331-2926-1}}, p. 59.</ref>), is the remains of an immense lake that occupied {{convert|330000|km2|sqmi}} of the [[Chad Basin]] 7,000 years ago.<ref name="EB"/> Although in the 21st century it covers only {{convert|17806|km2|sqmi}}, and its surface area is subject to heavy seasonal fluctuations,<ref>"Chad, Lake". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. (2000).
</ref> the lake is Africa's second largest wetland.<ref>Dinar, Ariel (1995); ''Restoring and Protecting the World's Lakes and Reservoirs''. World Bank Publications. {{ISBN|0-8213-3321-6}}, p. 57</ref>

Chad is home to six terrestrial ecoregions: [[East Sudanian savanna]], [[Sahelian Acacia savanna]], [[Lake Chad flooded savanna]], [[East Saharan montane xeric woodlands]], [[South Saharan steppe and woodlands]], and [[Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref> The region's tall grasses and extensive marshes make it favourable for birds, reptiles, and large mammals. Chad's major rivers—the [[Chari River|Chari]], [[Logone River|Logone]] and their tributaries—flow through the southern savannas from the southeast into Lake Chad.<ref name="EB"/><ref>{{in lang|fr}} Chapelle, Jean (1981) ''Le Peuple Tchadien: ses racines et sa vie quotidienne''. Paris: L'Harmattan. {{ISBN|2-85802-169-4}}, pp. 10–16</ref>

Each year a tropical weather system known as the [[Intertropical Convergence Zone|intertropical front]] crosses Chad from south to north, bringing a [[wet season]] that lasts from May to October in the south, and from June to September in the Sahel.<ref>[[#Decalo|Decalo]], p. 3</ref> Variations in local rainfall create three major geographical zones. The [[Sahara]] lies in the country's northern third. Yearly precipitations throughout this belt are under {{convert|50|mm|in}}; only occasional spontaneous palm groves survive, all of them south of the [[Tropic of Cancer]].<ref name="UNHCHR"/>

The Sahara gives way to a [[Sahel]]ian belt in Chad's centre; precipitation there varies from {{convert|300|to|600|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} per year. In the Sahel, a steppe of thorny bushes (mostly [[acacia]]s) gradually gives way to the south to [[East Sudanian savanna]] in Chad's [[Sudan (region)|Sudanese]] zone. Yearly rainfall in this belt is over {{convert|900|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}.<ref name="UNHCHR"/>

=== Wildlife ===
{{Main|Wildlife of Chad}}

[[File:African Bush Elephant Mikumi.jpg|thumb|An [[African bush elephant]]]]

Chad's animal and plant life correspond to the three climatic zones. In the Saharan region, the only flora is the date-palm groves of the oasis. Palms and [[acacia tree]]s grow in the Sahelian region. The southern, or Sudanic, zone consists of broad grasslands or prairies suitable for grazing. {{as of|2002|post=,}} there were at least 134 species of mammals, 509 species of birds (354 species of residents and 155 migrants), and over 1,600 species of plants throughout the country.<ref name=Bird/><ref name=Flora>{{cite journal|url=https://www.pensoft.net/journal_home_page.php?journal_id=3&page=article&SESID=98556166bbcb445ae7ccd99343b1434e&type=show&article_id=4752&issue_id=410&ttar=da&search=wildlife%20of%20chad&IN=&TIP=&Image100_x=-678&Image100_y=-48&|title=The Flora of Chad: a checklist and brief analysis|year=2013|access-date=17 October 2013|publisher=Pensoft.net|doi=10.3897/phytokeys.23.4752|last1=Brundu|first1=Giuseppe|last2=Camarda|first2=Ignazio|journal=PhytoKeys|issue=23|pages=1–18|pmid=23805051|pmc=3690977|doi-access=free|bibcode=2013PhytK..23....1B |archive-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211090905/https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=1546|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Elephant]]s, [[lion]]s, [[African buffalo|buffalo]], [[hippopotamus]]es, [[rhinoceros]]es, [[giraffe]]s, [[antelope]]s, [[leopard]]s, [[cheetah]]s, [[hyena]]s, and many species of [[snake]]s are found here, although most large carnivore populations have been drastically reduced since the early 20th century.<ref name=Bird>{{cite web|url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/userfiles/file/IBAs/AfricaCntryPDFs/Chad.pdf|title=Important Bird Areas in Africa and associated islands – Chad|access-date=16 October 2013|publisher=Birdlife International Organization|archive-date=11 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911042144/http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/userfiles/file/IBAs/AfricaCntryPDFs/Chad.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="LTQ">{{cite web|url=http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/chad_plant.shtml|title=Plant and Animal Life|publisher=The Living Africa|access-date=17 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228215847/http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/chad_plant.shtml|archive-date=28 December 2013}}</ref> [[Elephant hunting in Chad|Elephant poaching]], particularly in the south of the country in areas such as [[Zakouma National Park]], is a severe problem. The small group of surviving [[West African crocodile]]s in the [[Ennedi Plateau]] represents one of the last colonies known in the Sahara today.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brito|first1=José C.|last2=Martínez-Freiría|first2=Fernando|last3=Sierra|first3=Pablo|last4=Sillero|first4=Neftalí|last5=Tarroso|first5=Pedro|last6=Fenton|first6=Brock|title=Crocodiles in the Sahara Desert: An Update of Distribution, Habitats and Population Status for Conservation Planning in Mauritania|journal=[[PLOS ONE]]|date=25 February 2011|volume=6|issue=2|pages=e14734|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0014734|pmc=3045445|pmid=21364897|bibcode=2011PLoSO...614734B|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In Chad [[forest cover]] is around 3% of the total land area, equivalent to 4,313,000 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 6,730,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 4,293,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 19,800 hectares (ha). For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under [[State ownership|public ownership]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content |title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Chad |url=https://fra-data.fao.org/assessments/fra/2020/TCD/home/overview |website=Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref>

Chad had a 2018 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 6.18/10, ranking it 83rd globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}</ref> Extensive deforestation has resulted in loss of trees such as acacias, baobab, dates and palm trees. This has also caused loss of natural habitat for wild animals; one of the main reasons for this is also hunting and livestock farming by increasing human settlements. Populations of animals like lions, leopards and rhino have fallen significantly.<ref name="Our">{{cite web|url=http://www.our-africa.org/chad/geography-wildlife|title=Our Africa|access-date=17 October 2013|publisher=Our Africa organization|archive-date=17 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017232715/http://www.our-africa.org/chad/geography-wildlife|url-status=live}}</ref>

Efforts have been made by the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] to improve relations between farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists in the Zakouma National Park (ZNP), Siniaka-Minia, and Aouk reserve in southeastern Chad to promote sustainable development.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/agriculture/lead/themes0/drylands/chad1/en/|title=Livestock-wildlife-environment interactions in Chad|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization|access-date=17 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019103202/http://www.fao.org/agriculture/lead/themes0/drylands/chad1/en/|archive-date=19 October 2013}}</ref> As part of the national conservation effort, more than 1.2&nbsp;million trees have been replanted to check the advancement of the desert, which incidentally also helps the local economy by way of financial return from acacia trees, which produce [[gum arabic]], and also from fruit trees.<ref name=Our/>

Poaching is a serious problem in the country, particularly of elephants for the profitable [[ivory]] industry and a threat to lives of rangers even in the national parks such as Zakouma. Elephants are often massacred in herds in and around the parks by organized poaching.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2006/08/060830-elephants-chad.html |title=African Elephants Slaughtered in Herds Near Chad Wildlife Park |magazine=National Geographic |date=30 August 2006 |access-date=17 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017173341/http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2006/08/060830-elephants-chad.html |archive-date=17 October 2013 }}</ref> The problem is worsened by the fact that the parks are understaffed and that a number of wardens have been murdered by poachers.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/world/africa/central-africas-wildlife-rangers-face-deadly-risks.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1382003098-yauBx4MSdHcb4DxeUgSrUw|title=Rangers in Isolated Central Africa Uncover Grim Cost of Protecting Wildlife|newspaper=The New York Times|date=31 December 2012|access-date=17 October 2013|archive-date=17 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717201107/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/world/africa/central-africas-wildlife-rangers-face-deadly-risks.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1382003098-yauBx4MSdHcb4DxeUgSrUw|url-status=live}}</ref>