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A. Amani et al.
decision-making for management and preparedness. For example, better information
on the nature of the rainy season within the basin would help policy and community
leadership plan appropriately for predicted conditions.
The co-development of the CHADFDM has benefitted from continued input from
the LCBC staff through periodic meetings and discussions, sometimes also attended
by national agency technical staff. Operational training on the system is organized
for experts from member countries and from the LCBC secretariat. The tool will be
widely disseminated for use by communities and policy-makers within the basin.
Given the limitation of data availability in the Lake Chad Basin, the information
already provided by the CHADFDM represents a significant step towards the development of a robust transboundary information system, providing a baseline of timely
information that includes historic data, near-real-time data, short-term forecasts and
seasonal forecasts. This is already a great source of state-of-the-art hydrological data
using remote sensing and global datasets to support the mandate of the LCBC to
implement the Water Charter. The system will continue to be refined for application
to specific opportunities that will arise from its use and ownership.
Priorities for next steps include the systematic integration of ground data from
rainfall stations and improvement of calibration using in situ streamflow data. A
continued dialogue among the LCBC and the national agencies of the member
states is the key to creation of an operational and well-functioning transboundary
information platform to monitor and forecast water resources.
Acknowledgements This work was supported by the World Bank’s Global Water Security and
Sanitation Partnership through the Global Remote Sensing Initiative for Water Resources Management, and the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) through a funded project on
Lake Chad by the African Development Bank.
Appendix
A.1. Validation Datasets
a. Precipitation
GPCP—Global Precipitation Climatology Project
We use the latest version (v2.3) of the GPCP monthly analysis. This improves the
homogeneity of the previous version, especially since 2002, through corrections of
the cross-calibration of satellite data and updates to the gauge analysis. The dataset is a
merger of various satellite-based estimates globally, combined with the precipitation
gauge analyses over land from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC).
The satellite-based estimates are a combination of passive microwave estimates over
ocean, passive microwave estimates over land and estimates from IR/microwave
sounders, contributing at higher latitudes (above 40
o latitude).
TMPA—TRMM Multisensor Precipitation Analysis
A. Amani et al.
decision-making for management and preparedness. For example, better information
on the nature of the rainy season within the basin would help policy and community
leadership plan appropriately for predicted conditions.
The co-development of the CHADFDM has benefitted from continued input from
the LCBC staff through periodic meetings and discussions, sometimes also attended
by national agency technical staff. Operational training on the system is organized
for experts from member countries and from the LCBC secretariat. The tool will be
widely disseminated for use by communities and policy-makers within the basin.
Given the limitation of data availability in the Lake Chad Basin, the information
already provided by the CHADFDM represents a significant step towards the development of a robust transboundary information system, providing a baseline of timely
information that includes historic data, near-real-time data, short-term forecasts and
seasonal forecasts. This is already a great source of state-of-the-art hydrological data
using remote sensing and global datasets to support the mandate of the LCBC to
implement the Water Charter. The system will continue to be refined for application
to specific opportunities that will arise from its use and ownership.
Priorities for next steps include the systematic integration of ground data from
rainfall stations and improvement of calibration using in situ streamflow data. A
continued dialogue among the LCBC and the national agencies of the member
states is the key to creation of an operational and well-functioning transboundary
information platform to monitor and forecast water resources.
Acknowledgements This work was supported by the World Bank’s Global Water Security and
Sanitation Partnership through the Global Remote Sensing Initiative for Water Resources Management, and the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP) through a funded project on
Lake Chad by the African Development Bank.
Appendix
A.1. Validation Datasets
a. Precipitation
GPCP—Global Precipitation Climatology Project
We use the latest version (v2.3) of the GPCP monthly analysis. This improves the
homogeneity of the previous version, especially since 2002, through corrections of
the cross-calibration of satellite data and updates to the gauge analysis. The dataset is a
merger of various satellite-based estimates globally, combined with the precipitation
gauge analyses over land from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC).
The satellite-based estimates are a combination of passive microwave estimates over
ocean, passive microwave estimates over land and estimates from IR/microwave
sounders, contributing at higher latitudes (above 40
o latitude).
TMPA—TRMM Multisensor Precipitation Analysis