To address the challenges to Natural Resource Management;
13. Riparian countries should initiate more research on invasive species to identify and harness the benefits that can be derived from the species,
14. Riparian countries should develop bilateral and multilateral institutional frameworks to prevent smuggling of mineral and other natural resources.
To promote Foreign Direct Investments in Regional Trade and Development;
15. Partner States should develop a harmonized investment regime and formulate a regional PPP framework to facilitate public and private sector collaboration.
16. Enhance capacity of private and public sector to develop bankable projects to meet banking requirements
17. Partner States should develop regional market information portals to enable the private sector to access trade and investments opportunities in the region.
To promote Women and Youth Development;
18. Governments should introduce and implement enabling policy and legal frameworks to insure women and youth have access to productive resources and assets
19. Finance institutions should partner with national development banks so as to provide low cost financial services to women and youth
20. Governments should put in place enabling environments for women and youth to form business organizations like savings and credit cooperatives to make them bankable
21. Governments, Private Sector and NGOs offering micro-credits should build the capacity of women and youth entrepreneurs to improve their business skills
To promote the Role of Development Partners and Media in Socio-economic Development;
22. The Tripartite Secretariats and Governments should collaborate with Development Partners in developing programmes that can address the infrastructure bottlenecks in the Lake Tanganyika region, for example developing a Lake Tanganyika Water and Sanitation Programme
23. The Riparian Countries should put in place regulatory and institutional frameworks to support research and improve synergy and exchange of information
24. The Tripartite should strengthen collaboration between Lake Tanganyika Authority and Inter University Council for East Africa in order to promote research along the Basin
Lake Tanganyika and its Basin are endowed with exceptionally large and highly diverse heritage of flora and fauna. The lake is a global hotspot of biodiversity, and an extremely valuable aquatic ecosystem containing almost 17% of the global available surface freshwater supply and some of the largest freshwater fisheries on the African continent. Estimates suggest that Lake Tanganyika harbours at least 1500 species out of which approximately 600 are currently considered endemic to the lake. In addition to Lake Tanganyika’s elevated levels of aquatic biodiversity, the Basin is renowned for its terrestrial biodiversity and scenic beauty. The Basin contains several forest reserves and national parks including Rusizi Nature Reserve and Kigwena Forest Reserve in Burundi, Gombe Stream, Katavi and Mahale Mountains National Park in Tanzania, and Nsumbu National Park in Zambia. The lake and its Basin provide a diverse range of ecosystem services that sustain the livelihoods of millions of people.
Environmental degradation caused mainly by human induced activities poses serious threats to the biodiversity and sustainable use of the natural resources in the Lake Tanganyika Basin. In recognition of these threats, the four riparian countries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia with support from international partners convened the first international scientific conference on the conservation of biodiversity of Lake Tanganyika and its Basin in 1991. One of the main outcomes of this conference was that international funding agencies were attracted. Between 1992 and 2003 the riparian countries and supporting partners jointly implemented the Lake Tanganyika Research Project (LTR), the Lake Tanganyika Biodiversity Project (LTBP) and the Lake Tanganyika Management Planning Project
Lake Tanganyika is internationally recognised as a global hotspot of biodiversity, representing some of the most diverse aquatic ecosystems in the world (Groombridge and Jenkins, 1998). The lake’s valuable aquatic ecosystem and the many natural resources found in its Basin provide essential sources of livelihood and income for over 10 million riparian population around the lake, and contribute to the growing economies of surrounding countries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Tanzania and Zambia.
Estimates suggest that Lake Tanganyika harbours at least 1500 species (Coulter, 1991), although species numbers vary according to taxonomic authority. Approximately 600 species are endemic to the lake, including 245 morphologically diverse and colourful cichlid fish species (Snoeks, 2000; Genner et al., 2004). Lake Tanganyika is unique in harbouring endemic species clusters of bagrids, cyprinids, mastacembelids, and mochokids (Coulter, 1991; Vreven, 2005; Day & Wilkinson, 2006). Moreover, a large diversity of endemic ostracods, gastropods, shrimp, crabs (e.g., Martens, 1994; West et al., 2003; Marijnissen et al., 2004; Fryer 2006), as well as many other taxa can be found in Lake Tanganyika. The lake is valuable not only for the presence of these unique species, but also as a microcosm in which to study the processes of evolution that have led to this diversity.
The Lake Tanganyika Basin faces multiples challenges, resulting from the activities of rapidly expanding human populations in the riparian countries. The most immediate threats are:
The transboundary environmental problems in Lake Tanganyikabasin have the potential to impact the livelihoods of millions people.
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