Introduction:

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has seen first-hand how the ‘nexus’ of security and climate change is affecting the lives of poor women in the Lake Chad basin area who depend on fishing for their livelihoods.

Although fishing has traditionally sustained communities there, unsustainable water management and the effects of climate change have reduced the lake to one tenth of its original size, thus diminishing fish stocks.

Meanwhile, violence perpetrated by the extremist group Boko Haram has added to an already precarious situation, with roughly four million people in the region not getting enough to eat.

Despite these immense challenges, the fisherwomen have found an ally in the UN Development Programme (UNDP), which has supplied them with new nets.

Daniel Dickinson is travelling with Ms. Mohammed who explained why there is reason to be hopeful.