Hanging Chad?

At a time when there has been a call to 'leave more of the unexploited hydrocarbons in the ground', it is rather saddening to read that the Country of Chad has asked UNESCO to 'postpone' making a decision on granting World Heritage status to Lake Chad ( https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/24/chad-halts-lake-world-heritage-status-request-over-oil-exploration-unesco). The Lake Chad region is very substantial (it's home to some 45 million people) and is located, as well as shared, where Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria meet. All 4 countries had been involved in the very prolonged application process which could have substantial tourism benefits for the area. Chad have independently asked for a postponement, as they have granted oil exploration rights to several, unnamed companies. If oil is found and extracted, World Heritage status for the region becomes impossible. Although the other countries are reportedly 'livid', not all of them have been very protective of other regions that have been 'trashed' by oil extraction. Chad is a poor country and one can understand the temptation of oil revenues but, controlling climate change, means extracting fewer of the planet's hydrocarbon reserves. Oil money, in Africa, rarely flows to the people who life in the region (even though they take the environmental 'hit'). In a sane world, people would consider the long-term consequences.