Dor is Solom, February 26, 2025 -The governments of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Sambia have initiated a five-year project to assess and answer the cross-border threats to the biological diversity of Tanganyika-Lake Tanganyika. The initiative protects the core preserving zones in three identified protected areas and promotes sustainable use of natural resources in protected areas and their buffer zones.
The UN Environmental Program (UNEP) LED initiative, the preservation of biological diversity, sustainable land management and the improvement of water safety in the Tanganyika basin of Lake Tanganyika is financed by the global environment facility and aims at crossing the border To improve cooperation between the four countries that are in tanganyika to Lake to the Lake-Lake-Lake-Lake bordered. Sustainable fishing, the preservation of biological diversity and the restoration of degraded landscapes in the pool will also be promoted.
“With this transformative project, we take concrete steps to reverse the loss of biological diversity, promote sustainable fishing and to restore the health of the lake for current and future generations,” said Sylvain Tusanga Mukanga, managing director of Lake Tanganyika Authority.
Some of the intervention areas with a high priority for the project include: Definition of standards for acceptable fishing practices, including suitable fishing equipment, optimal mesh sizes and fishing quotas, protection of critical habitats, increasing participation of the community in fishing management and the promotion of sustainable alternatives for livelihood among several others.
Worldwide, the deterioration of the lake continues to be reported as a growing problem and an international crisis. In the last century alone, an estimated 84 percent of the population decline of freshwater species was observed, which is dying out the fear of species and risks to the integrity of fresh water and surrounding ecosystems. These consequences can largely be attributed to inadequate or uncoordinated approaches to the management of sea worldwide, which leads to nutrient pollution from agriculture and sewage, plastic pollution, hydrological change, industrial waste loads, invasive species, excess, destruction of habitats and other oppressive environmental problems, in particular In the infestation of invasive climate change.
The Tanganjika basin with over 10 million inhabitants is recognized internationally as a hotspot for biological diversity. However, the biological diversity of the lake is seriously threatened and intensified by the increasing human population groups, their increased use of natural resources and climate change.
“We have a moral duty to protect nature,” said Doreen Robinson, the head of the biological diversity and land branch at UNEP. “While we pursue our common search for the global social goal, to stop and reverse the loss of biological diversity by 2030, and to speed up the implementation of the global biological diversity of Kunming-Montreal, I will be encouraged by this brave step of the four countries, to start this nature. Positive initiative to reverse the land closure and to protect the vital biodiversity in the Tanganyika basin of the Lake. “
Global forecasts already estimate that the value of the Lake Ecosystem services worth $ 3 trillion could decrease by up to 20 percent by 2050, while nutrient pollution from agriculture and waste water is expected to be at least doubled and hundreds of billions cost from dollar annually .
At the moment, the decline in the biological diversity of fresh water is twice as high as the decline rate of biological diversity in terrestrial and marine biomes.
This project of $ 14.5 million is carried out by UNOPS and involves Lake Tanganyika authority as a strategic partner. It builds on the collaborative partnership Foundation, which was laid by the congress on the sustainable management of Tanganyika Lake and the contracting states adopted in 2003.
“The introduction of this Multi-Country initiative is an important step in our collective responsibility to protect and restore one of the most important freshwater ecosystems in the world,” said Rainer Frauenfeld, Unops director for East and South Africa.
*****
Notes to editors
About the UN Environment program (UNEP)
Unep is the leading global voice in the environment. It offers leadership and promotes the partnership in the care of the environment by inspiring, informing, informing and enablesing nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without affecting future generations.
About the global environmental facility
Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral fund that deals with loss, climate change, pollution and tribes for land and oceang. His grants, the mixed financing and the support of political support help developing countries to cope with their greatest environmental priorities and to adhere to international environmental conventions. In the past three decades, the GEF has financed more than 25 billion USD and mobilized another $ 145 billion for more than 5,700 national and regional projects.
About Unops
Unops mission is to help people create a better life and the countries that achieve peace and sustainable development. It helps the United Nations to manage governments and other partners to efficiently manage projects and to deliver sustainable infrastructure and procurement efficiently. With decades of practical experience in the infrastructure, Unops is committed to supporting climate measures and combating the climate emergency.
For more information, please contact:
News and media unit, UN environmental program
Samwel Adawo, communication specialist, UN Environment Program (UNEP)
Leticia Wanyagi, communication analyst, unops