Partie tchadienne du lac Tchad. 14/08/01; Lac, Kenam; 1,648,168 ha; 14°20'N 013°37'E. A vast expanse of water bordered on the northwest by a cordon of dunes, on the northeast by an "erg" of shifting sand dunes, and on the south by flat lowlands. Lake Chad is shared with Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria, and the Chadian portion covers a great variety of wetland types, including open waters, islets and sandbanks, polders, oases and temporary and permanent "natron" or alkalai pools. The endorrheic lake, as the only expanse of water of similar magnitude in the Sahara, is of immense importance to all life in the region and fulfills most of the Ramsar Criteria. The site supports internationally important numbers of waterbirds and is essential for some 150 fish species, and is the only place in the country that supports the endemic Kouri Ox, which is threatened by extinction through interbreeding. The lake also regulates the variability of annual water supply, recharges groundwater, and helps to control flooding. Of 300,000 fisherpeople in Chad, more than half of them live around Lake Chad, and the production of spiruline ("blue algae") and natron is economically important., as is the raising of cattle, sheep, and camels, and some agriculture. Desiccation and sanding over are seen as the main threats. Ramsar site no. 1134. Most recent RIS information: 2001.