Tanzania calls stakeholders for joint actions to reverse lake’s environmental degradation

By Nneka Nwogwugwu

Tanganyika’s riparian countries of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Zambia have been urged to unite toward the conservation of the biodiversity of the lake, Xinhua news agency reports.

Addressing the 9th meeting of the Conference of Ministers of the Lake Tanganyika Authority in Kigoma region, Tanzanian Vice President Philip Mpango, said biodiversity of the lake is being lost at an alarming rate through human-induced activities such as unsustainable agricultural

“Agricultural and pastoral activities, for instance, have led to increased land cover loss, bank erosion, sedimentation, increased peak flows, decreased base flow, and contamination of groundwater sources,” said the Vice President.’’

He said all ports along the lake often face limited access challenges due to accumulated sedimentation. “This Lake and its basin is home to more than 10 million people, over 250 species of cichlids, and more than 2,000 different species of plants.

He added that the lake is estimated to have the potential to produce more than 1.5 million metric tonnes of fish annually, but only 580,000 metric tons are effectively harvested due to environmental degradation.

Mpango has called on African nations sharing Lake Tanganyika to take bold steps aimed at reversing the environmental degradation in the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world.