German Government Declared War in 2018 against Transaqua Plan To Replenish Lake Chad

Jan. 28, 2020 (EIRNS)—EIR has discovered that following the decision by the Lake Chad Basin Commission, representing all African countries neighboring Lake Chad, to endorse the Transaqua project as the only feasible option to recharge Lake Chad, the German government mobilized to sabotage the plan and announced it in the Bundestag. Berlin’s action is not only a crime against humanity, but since the Italian government has officially endorsed Transaqua and provided a grant to help finance the feasibility study, the fact that another EU member government acts to sabotage it, should become a political scandal.

This is the exchange between Green Bundestag Deputy Frithjof Schmidt, who referred to LaRouchePAC as his source, and Undersecretary of State for Cooperation and Development Maria Flachsbarth, on Oct. 2, 2018.

Schmidt: What does the Federal government think about the criticism of the Transaqua project, which was endorsed at the International Conference on Lake Chad in February 2018 as a preferred option to prevent Lake Chad from drying out [see “Transaqua Moves Forward: Water Transfer Is Not an Option, It Is a Necessity” March 2, 2018], that this project takes too long to prevent Lake Chad from completely disappearing [see, “Save Lake Chad: Analysis of Transaqua, The Solar Option”] and what is the evaluation of the Federal government on the effects of the necessary infrastructure measures on the local population and the environment?

Flachsbarth: The Transaqua project-Lake Chad is an idea that has been discussed repeatedly since 1972. The Federal government has no reliable knowledge of the actual ecological, economic and social effects of the project. A first step to assess the impact would be a feasibility study, the total cost of which is estimated at least €10 million. According to the information available here, the African Development Bank has taken the lead in financing such a feasibility study. Regardless of this, it can be assumed that a large number of highly complex ecological systems would be lost. The Congo Basin, in its diversity and in terms of its capacity as a water reservoir and green belt of the Earth, ranks second behind the Amazon basin. Potential dangers to security, food security and economic development in the Congo Basin cannot be excluded.

Schmidt: To what extent does the Federal government intend to provide financial and political support to the Transaqua project or related projects and studies?

Flachsbarth: Due to the possible political, ecological, socio-economic and economic risks, the Federal government currently has no intention of supporting the Transaqua project or related studies financially or politically. In political dialogue among others with the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the neighboring countries involved in the project, the Federal government has repeatedly expressed its critical stance, most recently during the Lake Chad Basin Conference in Berlin on Sept. 3-4, 2018. The Federal government will also present this critical stance in the relevant committees of international financial institutions, such as the African Development Bank’s supervisory board.