Integrated Lake Management

Themes

Integrated Lake Management: the approach

Lakes are managed for a variety of reasons, with implications for the approach to management, institutional structures and the costs and benefits of management. Across Africa, lakes play a significant role in many national and local economies. In Uganda, lake management is primarily concerned with fisheries management, as the fisheries sector contributes significantly to the Ugandan economy and to employment and food security.

Despite their importance, most lakes face increasing threats due to over-fishing compounded by threats from the land, notably pollution from urbanisation and agriculture and catchment degradation. Lake management therefore requires a holistic, integrated approach that brings together everyone who affects the lake and uses the lake, and addresses the key impacts and opportunities that affect the condition of the lake and the lives of those using the lake.

Fisheries co-management

In response to growing evidence that centralised fisheries management was not stopping the decline of fish stocks or addressing the needs of fisheries communities, the Government of Uganda decentralised fisheries management. As well as involving local government,it was realised that the fisheries communities themselves must work with government to manage the resources.

Co-management is a sharing of responsibility and authority for resource management between the government and the local resource users/community. Institutions for fisheries co-management have been established at community and lake wide levels. These are: Beach Management Units and Lake Management Organisations

Integrated Lake Management: the project

ILM worked with local and national government and fishing communities on two lakes in Uganda: Lake George in the southwest and Lake Kyoga in the centre of the country. ILM began its activities on the smaller Lake George (260 km2), around the shores of which there are three district local governments, four sub-county governments and eight fishing communities, before expanding its support to the larger Lake Kyoga (2,800 km2), working with ten shoreline district local governments, 49 sub-county governments and fishing communities at 421 landing sites. ILM also provided support to the 5 fishing communities on Lake Edward, as this lake is connected to Lake George by the Kazinga Channel, though is shared between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

ILM supported the Government of Uganda at policy level to ensure that the contribution of fisheries resources to poverty reduction and economic growth is recognised and that national policy supports the implementation of the ILM approach.