Sustainable Management Actions for the Lake Tanganyika Biodiversity Conservation in the Fizi Territory, in DR Congo

Lucien Mabwe


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9 Jul 2013

Sustainable Actions for the Lake Tanganyika Protection and its Biodiversity in the South Kivu Province/DR Congo

The aims of the project are:

- Sensitization of local people for conservation of the Lake Tanganyika biodiversity

- Restoration of the Lake Tanganyika ecosystem

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The Lake Tanganyika, lying in the Rift valley, is a hotspot of aquatic biodiversity. The Congolese coast, boarding the Fizi territory, is 350 km long from Makobola to Kabanga passing by Nemba and Kibanga. In DR Congo, the Lake undergoes mainly three threats:

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-Destruction of species habitat

-Non-viable fishing

-Excessive sedimentation

This contributes to make scarce resources and species become extinct. It also makes local people extremely poor and even the lake itself.

The indigenous people living along the Lake and making profit of the Lake products we mean the fish don’t know what to do. They link to evil spirits and witchcraft, they make sacrifices of animals and even human beings mostly their children to soothe the lake spirits, they also invoke dead persons to soothe the negative impacts they always get; they mostly use non viable and harmful fishing methods.

This pioneering and innovative project gets into the way of fighting against those threats. It’s a stop gap measure project for the welfare of the local people in particular and those from the people of the region in general, in order to lead to a sustainable management of the Lake for its biodiversity conservation. We have three focused villages for the implementation of the project: Munene, Mkwechi and Lweba.

We shall train 90 leaders on viable practice of fishing and agriculture on slopes and valleys and on Lake Ecosystem restoration (to plant reeds - water grass). Aside from the 90 trainers who will train (teach) back their knowledge to local people, there will be posters stuck, brochures distributed and even the press will be invited for the sensitization of the Lake conservation.

From 500 to 2000 plants of reeds will be planted in the Lake by sensitized population. It's sure that reeds (are not invasive species) constitute the pond zone and a home for species. The local people sensitized on the Lake biodiversity conservation will constitute local basic grassroots for the Lake protection in each village. Protocol work (protocol agreement) will be made between those grassroots and our organisation (Mleci non profit making) in order to make sustainable the project in the whole area targeted.

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