Resources

BirdLife Partners from Kenya (NatureKenya), Uganda (NatureUganda), Rwanda (Association pour la Conservation de la Nature au Rwanda) and Burundi (Association Burundaise pour la Protection des Oiseaux) are implementing a project in the Lake Victoria Basin which aims to empower local organizations so that they are better equipped to address the linked challenges of poverty and biodiversity loss. Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake, and the largest tropical lake in the world. The swamps, forests and islands in and around Lake Victoria are important for a diversity of wildlife.

African Great Lakes (AGLs) contribute 2.7 million tonnes (~25%) to global inland fisheries production (11.9 mt) annually. This is composed of large species (> 20 cm total length, TL) and small pelagic species (< 20 cm, TL). At the turn of the 20th century, fisheries of the AGLs were dominated by large species (tilapine cichlids, Lates spp, cat fishes, Mormyrids, etc.) and management concentrated on these species.

The Metu district is located in the southwestern part of Ethiopia, where the UNESCO registered biosphere is one of the few remnants of natural forest and home of forest coffee Arabica. Over time, the population increased tremendously and over-used the banks the rivers for agriculture severe deforestation and over grazing has completely changed the environment of the district and the Wuchi wetland lost its water and remained bare.

This paper is based on a study that was carried out to investigate the linkages between population dynamics and climate change among both in school and out of school youth aged between 10 and 35 in southern Malawi to inform the development of behavioral change interventions for the PaMawa project. The overall purpose of the project is to promote increased adoption of positive behaviors related to climate change adaptation and sexual reproductive health (SRH) by identifying motivators, barriers and gaps in the uptake of SRH that have a bearing on climate change adaptation.

Tanzania's Northern Lake Nyasa basin contains montane forests that are renowned for their endemic plants and critically endangered fauna (e.g., Kipunji). The region's wetlands are rich in species diversity and among the world's most biologically productive ecosystems. The significant ecosystem services linkages between these areas with downstream aquatic biodiversity, fisheries production, and human well-being, however, receive little attention. The basin's rural human population is expected to grow rapidly, further straining the natural resource base.

Lake Turkana is Kenya's largest lake, renowned as the world's largest desert lake, with 90% of the lake's inflow provided by Ethiopia's second largest river system, the Omo Basin. The natural hydrological cycle of the Omo / Turkana ecosystem is being dampened by a cascade of major hydropower developments, and in addition, large-scale irrigation plantations downstream will exploit the regulated river flow, and thereby deplete the natural river inflows to the lake. Local people utilize the lake resources, living in harsh conditions.

The project aims to support 720 households in 24 cooperatives with 6 cooperatives per hill. It will provide vegetable material from the cultivation of sweet potatoes and market gardening crops (cabbage, egg plant, amaranth and tomatoes). The project will also support co-operatives on agricultural techniques adapted to climate change. The cooperative approach will facilitate project monitoring and sustainability.

In order to increase productivity and combat food insecurity, a goat breeding project was initiated. These goats allowed 46 indigenous households to have manure for soil improvement and thus increase their agricultural productivity.

This project aims to improve understanding of the importance of wetlands, highlighting the ecological and economic value of Ruvubu National Park through trainings on ecosystem services assessments and identification of biodiversity and ecosystem services characteristics and spatial trends.