LCBC procures state-of-the-art equipment for Member States
The official handing-over ceremony of state-of-the-art hydrometeorological and hydrogeological equipment took place on Tuesday, 28 June, at the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC). The equipment was procured as part of the Programme for the Rehabilitation and Strengthening of the Resilience of Socio-ecological Systems of the Lake Chad Basin (PRESIBALT) and the regional project “Improving the management of Lake Chad.” It was funded by the African Development Bank Group, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The state-of-the-art hydrometeorological equipment will enable the Member States to strengthen and expand their national meteorological services and provide data to the regional database as stipulated in the Lake Chad Basin Water Charter.
The batch allocated to the Republic of Chad, worth FCFA 700,000,000, was handed over by the Executive Secretary of LCBC, Ambassador MAMMAN NUHU, to the Secretary-General at the Ministry of Urban and Rural Hydraulics, Mr Mahamat Alifa Moussa.
The batch includes water level gauges, automatic water level measurement stations, GSM transmission accessories, and complete new generation gauging equipment with boat and outboard motor. It also comprises laptops, direct reading rain gauges, automatic multi-parameter stations with GSM transmission, automatic data loggers with GSM/GPRS tele-transmission, GSM modems, and tablets for data configuration and downloading, multi-parameter water quality and piezometric sensors, etc.
After receiving the equipment, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Urban and Rural Hydraulics thanked LCBC and its technical and financial partners for this gesture which contributes to improving the quality of various meteorological services and the resilience of the populations and ecosystems of the Lake Chad Basin. He also welcomed the fairness of the equitable distribution among all Member States, in accordance with the cardinal principle of LCBC, which places the values of sharing, solidarity, and integration at the forefront.
Mr. Mahamat Alifa Moussa called on the various beneficiary meteorological services to make good use of the equipment and, above all, to take good care of it. He also expressed the wish that LCBC and its TFPs support the Member States of the Commission in installing the equipment at the selected sites.
During this colourful ceremony, the Executive Secretary stated, “The equipment, procured at great expense, is intended to enable our Member States to strengthen and densify the observation network.” Ambassador Mamman Nuhu also expressed the sincere wish that these special tools, indispensable for good decision-making as part of climate and environmental activities, would facilitate exchanges and data sharing between LCBC and the Member States.
He added that such activities align with the Commission’s missions. They include ensuring that each member state has equitable and sustainable access to water in sufficient quantity and acceptable quality to meet its needs and rights and preserve its freshwater resources, ecosystem, and biodiversity.
