Chad herders face drought, flood devastation

Throughout his life, Fadoul Saleh has followed the tradition of nomadic shepherds, moving with the seasons to find pastures for his livestock.

In January, the 73-year-old had over 100 cows. But today, his life has been upended by extreme weather events in Chad.

"Just this year, the drought caused me to lose 70 head of cattle," he said, sitting in the shade of a bush on the outskirts of the country's capital, N'Djamena, his face is marked by exhaustion.

The first rains of the season — which should have brought some hope and relief to the herders — turned into a nightmare. Devastating floods swept away his last 35 cows, which represented all he owned.

Chad, like the rest of Africa's Sahel region, is facing torrential rain which has caused prolonged flooding.

Since July, the floods have killed at least 576 people and affected more than 1.9 million, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — more than 10% of Chad's population.

"It's total devastation," murmured Saleh. "It was early in the morning, still dark. The floods took away the rest of my animals, and even in my family, we lost loved ones. The waters took everything, from trucks to trees."

Climate extremes threaten herders' livelihoods 

The father of five now has no means to survive. He lives on the outskirts of N'Djamena, earning a living by helping others who come to sell their animals.

Saleh recalled that periods of intense heat were often followed by torrential rains. But this year has been exceptional, he said.

Between February and April, temperatures that exceeded 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) decimated already scarce natural resources.

Saleh told DW that he is not the only herder struggling to survive in an environment where water and pastures are becoming increasingly scarce.

"Our pastoral areas are vast, but they are degraded, and there's a severe lack of water. We are forced to move constantly," he explained.

The pressure on resources is intensifying, with Chad's livestock population growing significantly — from 18 million heads to 140 million over the last three decades —  leading to fierce competition for grazing land.

"For herders who depend directly on their livestock for survival, if the livestock is swept away, it's a disaster and cuts off their livelihood. It's a tragedy, that's clear," said Luca Ferrini, who oversees the pastoral program for the German development agency GIZ, a state-owned nonprofit agency.

Conflicts with farmers, new herders

The heat, drought and now the floods are exacerbating conflicts between farmers and herders. Herds, in search of pasture, often venture onto cultivated lands, triggering sometimes violent tensions with farmers.

"We are constantly in conflict with them," said Saleh. "There's too much pressure, too much livestock for limited resources."

Saleh has always been a resilient man, continuing an ancestral way of life. But today, he is forced to admit that herders like him are caught in a vicious cycle.

"With climate change, everything is becoming more difficult," he said, adding that the arrival of wealthy herders who monopolize land and water resources threatens their way of life, and that small herders like him "have to survive with meager means."

Faced with an increasingly hostile environment, Saleh, like many other herders, finds himself on the edge of a precipice. It's not just the climate that's changing, but also their way of life.

For many, the seasonal movement of livestock is no longer viable. Roads are dangerous due to the presence of armed groups, and pastures are becoming harder to reach.

"We have to deal with all this alone — without any support from our authorities," said Saleh.

Saleh's situation is shared by thousands of Chadian herders, confronted with the harsh realities of climate change and a glaring lack of support.

They are doing their best to adapt, but they don't know how much longer they can hold on. 

Edited by: Keith Walker

Correction, October 23, 2024: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Luca Ferrini. DW apologizes for the error.