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ZAMBIA - ATLAS OF OUR CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
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Lake Tanganyika
ZEMA, 2007
Lake Tanganyika, located in southern-central Africa,
is the second largest lake by volume in the world
and the largest in Africa. The lake basin covers
about 231,000 sq kilometres, and extends into
parts of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. Lake Tanganyika
boasts over 350 species of fish most of which are
endemic (Curtis, 2013).
The Lake Tanganyika Integrated Management
Programme aims to promote the protection of
biodiversity and the sustainable management of
the natural resources in the Lake Tanganyika basin.
The project began in 1995 and is expected to be
implemented until 2013. It focuses on sedimentation
control by placing emphasis on institutional
strengthening and supporting community
participation in agriculture, forestry and soil erosion
prevention (GRZ, 2013).
Some of the major results of the programme include:
• Sustainable natural resource use through
tree planting and the implementation
Lake Tanganyika Integrated Management Programme
of community-level natural resources
management plans;
• Development of alternative income-
generating activities through a community
revolving fund;
• Raising awareness among stakeholders,
including government and community
members, on the importance of sustainable
natural resource management. The awareness
raising to date has focused on invasive
species; and,
• Enhancing the capacity of local governance
structures to manage their natural resources
sustainably.
In addition, the government has pursued
appropriate policies and programmes relating to
natural resources management and environmental
protection. The project has facilitated the
enforcement of by-laws in target areas. In some
situations this has been undertaken in collaboration
with the countries that share the lake. (GRZ, 2013)