International Law and the Governance of Transboundary Natural Resources: The Lake Chad Basin and Nigeria’s Legal Obligations

This research provides an analytical and empirical examination of Nigeria's international legal obligations in governing transboundary natural resources in the Lake Chad Basin, drawing on the UN Watercourses Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) legal framework. The Lake Chad Basin is a critical ecological and economic resource for communities in northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, and its degradation raises pressing questions of international environmental responsibility and resource allocation equity. Using a comparative legal methodology supplemented by analysis of LCBC institutional data and environmental assessment reports, the study examines Nigeria's specific treaty obligations regarding equitable and reasonable use of basin resources, harm prevention, and transboundary environmental cooperation. It assesses the performance of the LCBC as an international institution and evaluates Nigeria's contribution to its governance mechanisms compared with other basin states. The paper fills a gap in the literature by providing the first comprehensive assessment of Nigeria's transboundary environmental obligations specifically within the Lake Chad Basin legal framework, distinguishing this context from general international water law. Findings indicate that Nigeria's compliance record with LCBC obligations is mixed, with greater engagement in security cooperation than environmental governance. An original institutional effectiveness framework for transboundary resource governance bodies in Africa is proposed. Recommendations include enhanced Nigerian investment in LCBC environmental monitoring, alignment of domestic water law with LCBC commitments, and engagement in international finance for basin restoration. Keywords: Lake Chad, transboundary resources, LCBC, international water law, Nigeria.