Geophysical characteristics

• The lake is shared between Burundi, DRC, Tanzania and Zambia.
• It is the deepest lake in Africa (1470m) and the second deepest in the world after Baikal and holds ~17% of the globe’s surface freshwater.
• The lake has three major in flowing rivers (Ruzizi, Malagarasi, and Rufubu) and the outflow is through River Lukuga.
• Most of the water into the lake comes from rainfall (67%) and inflow (33%) and is lost through evaporation (94%) and river outflow (6%).
• The majority of the people around the lake are poor and live on <1$ per day.

Demographic characteristics

• The basin population density varies between 250-1000 persons per km2 and is generally lowest in the south and highest in the northern Burundi region of the lake.

Fishes and fisheries

• The lake has about ~330 fish species of which 50% are endemic cichlids.
• The large commercial fishes have, as in other African lakes been over-exploited and the fishery is dominated by small pelagic fishes which contribute ~65% of the catch.
• The annual fishery yield from the lake is ~ 200,000 tons, employing ~45,000 people, and contributes 25-40% of the protein needs of over one million people around the lake.
• Ornamental fish trade is important on the lake.
• Cage fish farming has started and might as it grows provides alternative fishery livelihood.

The lake habitat

• The lake is meromictic and does not mix completely and oligotrophic.
• Declining wind speed and rising water temperatures due to climate warming has reduced nutrient mixing that support pelagic fish production and this is thought to have contributed to reduction in catches of pelagic fishes.
• Scanty quantities of water hyacinth are present on the lake but has low chances of spread due to bathymetry of the lake.

Basin factors

• There is heavy farming on the slopes of the rift escarpment which contributes to sedimentation and pollution of the lake.
• Lake Kivu contributed most (~55%) to the inflow into Lake Tanganyika. There are four dams along River Ruzizi between Kivu and Tanganyika and the way they are regulated will affect the water balance of Lake Tanganyika.
• Localized eutrophication and pollution is expected from industrial and urban waste from towns along the shores.
• There are at least four towns Bujumbura (Burundi), Kigoma (Tanzania), Mpulungu (Zambia) Uvira and Kalemie (DRC).
• There are oil and gas reserves in the southern shore, Ruzizi basin border of Burundi and DRC, along the northeastern shore of the lake.
• The lake has at least three national parks (Rusizi in Burundi; Mahale in Tanzania; and Nsumbu in Zambia) which provide high tourism potential but also minimizes the impact of land use change on the lake.

Governance

Interventions

• Control human population growth rates.
• Develop alternative livelihood options for fishers to reduce over-dependence on fisheries.
• Put in place measure to conserve and protect the high biodiversity.
• Control fishing effort (number of fishermen, boats, gear types and sizes)
• Develop mechanisms to improve stocks of depleted large commercial species.
• Develop species specific management plans for small pelagic fish species.
• Develop and implement best management practices for cage aquaculture.
• Monitor and control the spread of invasive water weeds
• Investigate impacts of climate change on aquatic systems and livelihoods, and develop adaptation and mitigation measures.
• Manage deforestation of the catchment and protect lake shores.
• Identify and manage pollutants especially from town in the catchment areas.
• Develop sustainable funding mechanisms for development and management efforts.
• Mobilize and share management information, data, and best management practices.
• Strengthen community participation in management of aquatic resources.