Regional approaches to ecosystem services in the Great Lakes of Africa(in review)
Date
1990Author
Upton, Caroline
Ochola, Washington
Odada, Eric
Loiselle, Steven
Lanqenberg, Victor
Kansiime, Frank
Harper, David
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The African Great Lakes are among the world's most important aquatic ecosystems
from the point of view of freshwater resources, biodiversity and carbon cycling. They are
heavily utilised by the regional population for transportation, water supply, fisheries,
waste disposal, recreation and tourism. However, evidence shows that environmental
drivers are compromising ecosystem functioning and jeopardising the fundamental ser-
Vices that largely determine people's livelihoods in Burundi, Congo, Ethiopia Kenya, Malawi,
Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. In the ESPA funded
EAGLO project, researchers are working with policy makers and experts from the lake
countries on a systematic inter-basin comparison to identify environmental limits and
medium scale trends in lake ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services, key socioeconomic
drivers and impacts.
A series of workshops with policy makers and stakeholders from throughout East Africa,
using a participatory scenario development methodology, provided information on
trends in demography, climate, governance, and common ecosystem services. The
analytical framework allowed for the exploration of the drivers, assumptions and major
socio-economic, science, governance, ecosystems and cultural changes anticipated in
three different worlds in 2030(current trends, best case and worst case scenarios). To
reach a common best-case scenario, the participants identified the need for a regional
approach that supports policy making and resource management, based on knowledge
exchange between stakeholders. Following the first workshop, and leading up to the
second, the ESPA EAGLO research team is integrating important research on individual
lakes into the context of regional trends in climate, ES and socio-economic conditions.
The development of a common approach and a shared vision, together with the support
of regional policy makers will assist the East Great lakes region in moving towards a
more sustainable and prosperous future.
Publisher
Department of Geology, University of Nairobi, University of Leicester, UK University of Makerere, Uganda