Pollution Control and Other Measures to Protect Biodiversity
in Lake Tanganyika (RAF/92/G32)
Summary of Progress for the Period
August 1995 to February 1996
Circulation:
UNOPS (2 copies)
NRI (? copies)
MRAG (? copies)
IFE (?copies)
PCU (3 copies)
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Pollution Control and Other Measures to Protect Biodiversity in
Lake Tanganyika (RAF/92/G32)
Summary of Progress for the Period
August 1995 to February 1996
INTRODUCTION
This report covers the period from 7 August 1995, the official start date of the
contract between NRI and UNOPS, and 29 February 1996. This and future progress
reports will be kept as concise as possible drawing attention only to those activities
and events which have a significant bearing on project progress toward its overall
purpose. Inevitably during the start up period of such a large and complex project
early progress was intermittent as the various components of the team and its
logistical support structure have been brought together in the UK and in the region.
The report is divided into three main sections:
· Report of administration and project management activities at NRI

· Report of activities of the Project Coordination Unit and main events in the region

· Report from each of the main special study groups, and in future reports, any
other ad-hoc studies that may be commissioned by the project
NRI ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT
(Insert here..................)
PROJECT COORDINATION UNIT (PCU)
General
The principal role of the PCU is to coordinate, support and and facilitate project
activities in the region. The unit is based in Tanzania rather than Burundi as originally
intended owing to the security situation in Burundi prohibiting, under UN regulations,
the establishment of new projects of this type in that country. The unit currently
consists of the Project Coordinator (Dr A. Menz), based in Dar es Salaam and the
Scientific Liaison Officer (Dr Keith Banister), based in Kigoma on the lake shore.
Office accomodation
The office in Dar es Salaam is currently based in the building of the British Council
(BC) under a letter of intent with the BC which should lead to a more formal
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agreement to provide office space, furniture and service plus certain administrative
support services. This was seen as the most cost effective and efficient way of
starting project activities in the region and has most definitely proved to be the case.
The office in Kigoma will be housed in an annex to the house rented for the SLO. The
annex is currently being refurbished and telephone line installed.
Support staff
The following support staff have or are in the process of being recruited:
Accountant/General duties officer and PA to the Project Coordinator in the Dar
Office. A secretary/general duties officer and driver in Kigoma.
Equipment
Vehicles for Dar and Kigoma (Land Rovers) were purchased locally ex-bond and were
delivered on 16 February. Orders for computers and other office equipment and
supplies have not been processed with the alacrity expected and have yet to be
delivered. NRI are being pressed to investigate and remedy the causes to the delays
which are unacceptable.
A full list of spares for refurbishment of the engine on the R/V Echo (a 12m TAFIRI
boat at Kigoma) has been drawn up and ordered from UK. The ordering of scientific
equipment and field vehicles will await firm work plans and details of requirments
from the special study groups.
Principal activities
Once formally assigned to the project by NRI the Project Coordinator and Scientific
Liaison Officer took an active role in the preparation for project start up whilst in the
UK. This included a major management meeting involving NRI, MRAG, IFE and PCU
took place at NRI on 5 September 1995 and a planning workshop on biodiversity
organised by MRAG on 1-2 November.
From 2 to 25 October 1995 the PC and the SLO (25 September to 15 October 1995).
undertook a mobilisation visit to the region. (This has been reported on more fully in
a separate report to NRI and UNOPS). Apart from advancing the setting up of project
bases in Dar and Kigoma, it provided an early opportunity for the PC and SLO to
visit many of the important institutions in the region and make contact with some of
the principal individuals likely to be involved in the project and generally inform them
of progress regarding project implementation. This was particularly important as the
UNDP system had not kept the lead organisations in the region informed of
developments since the signing of the project document in 1994 and this had led to a
feeling of dissatisfaction and even resentment in some quarters. In particular the
Burundi government was in strong disagreement with the decision to move the project
HQ from Burundi to Tanzania. Nevertheless throughout the reporting period the
security situation in Burundi has been uncertain and for a period the ferrys did not
run from Kigoma and the border with Uvira was closed. These events are becoming
more frequent and fishing activities may be curtailed in the future because of army
fears that rebels are using fishing boats to transport raiding parties.
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On return to UK the PC specified the first tranch of equipment for approval by
UNOPS and carried out a technical review of the proposed interagency agreement
between FAO/University of Kuopio and UNOPS, for the production of the Lake
Tanganyika circulation model to be used by the project. The PC took a series of
intensive French lessons.
On 15-17 November, en route to taking up post in Kigoma, the Scientific Liaison
Officer attended the joint meeting of the FAO/FINNIDA Lake Tanganyika Research
project's coordination and international scientific committees. Representatives from
all four riparian states were present as well as observers from FAO, University of
Kuopio (Finland) and University of Burundi. All delegates were contacted and
informed of project progress. In addition a formal paper on the project was presented
to the meeting.
On 17 November the Scientific Liaison Officer arrived in Kigoma together with Ian
Downey (NRI) and Tony Baily-Watts (IFE) who were visiting in relation to baseline
reviews. With some difficulty a houses was rented with a small annex suitable for a
project office after some refurbishment which has now been complete. Although
architects plans for the office/lab block on the TAFIRI site envisaged in the project
documents have been drawn up and costed, and permission to use the space, if
deemed advisable, obtained. No work will be started until the scope and intensity of
project scientific activities at Kigoma are better established. Quite extensive facilities
exist both at TAFIRI and the laboratory of the Water department.
Since arrival the Scientific Liaison Officer has spent a good deal of time and effort
getting to know key individuals and organisations in Kigoma. This involves mainly
TAFIRI and the Fisheries Department staff, and LTR staff based in Kigoma.
Directors of both institutions have been helpful and willing to cooperate. In addition
contacts have groupse been established with the local expatriate aid organisations
(UNHCR, IRC), various missionary groups (run hospitals and have flights ), local
NGOs, Jane Goodall Institute and TACARE and local/regional governmental bodies
such as Meteriologiy office , water office, Agriculture officer, planning dept and land
use department, Port Authorities and Air Tanzanian officials. This has resulted in
very good relations having been established and cemented with local institutions and
individuals.
In December a visit was made by the SLO to Bujumbura to discuss project matters
with staff at CRRHA (Zaire) and LTR as well as to peruse the LTR library and
collect copies of useful documents for the project in general and the baseline reviews
in particular.
The PC arrived in Dar-es-Salaam on 15 December 1995. Since then the main effort
throughout the reporting period has been directed toward sensitising the main
players in the region to the project, illicit nomination of national coordinators, describe
and explain the purpose of the baseline reviews and discuss how they should be
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handled once received. This was interspersed with activities related to setting up the
project office, purchasing vehicles and other equipment for PCU .
The national coordinators were finally established as follows:
Lead agency in Burundi
Institute for the Environment and
Conservation of Nature
National Coordinator
Dr Gaspard Bikwemu - Director General,
INECN
Lead agency in Tanzania
Division of Environment, Office of Vice-
Pres.
National Coordinator
Mr Toziri Lweno - Division of
Environment
Lead agency in Zambia
National Coordinator
Environmental Council for Zambia
Mr James S. Phiri - Director, ECZ
Lead agency in Zaire
Dept. for Management of Renewable
National Coordinator
Natural Resources.
Mr Mady Amule - Director, GRNR
It is unfortunate despite efforts to avoid it, that the Director of the Division of the
enironment in Tanzania chose to delegate the role of National Coordinator to a more
junior staff member rather than taking on the role, at least nominally, himself as this
has led to an imbalance of authority within the group.
The PC was invited to join an "Informal donor group on the Enviroment" the
invitation was gratefully accepted and the PC attended the meeting on 16 January held
at the Dutch Embassy. The group is very active being formed in May 1993 at the
instigation of the Netherlands Embassy. Its current chairman is Bob Hensen, Second
Secretary, aid and development at the Netherlands Embassy. It is comprised of
representatives from virtually all the bilateral donors and multilateral organisations
such as UNDP, FAO and World Bank as well as individuals from specific projects
such as Dr Alan Rodgers of the regional FAO/GEF Biodiversity support project. The
group meets monthly and discusses matters concerning the environment in direct
dialogue with Tanzania Government Departments such as Division of Environment,
Planning Commission, Ministry of Lands, Ministry of Agriculture and the National
Environmental Management Council. It is an extremely useful forum for exchange of
information and a summary of the Lake Tanganyika project was given in writing and
orally to the members present.
From February 3 to February 7 the PC and SLO visited Bujumbura. A summary of
the visit report follows.
Saturday Met with Luc de Vos and Alain Vandelannote, the two Belgians running the
Centre Regional de Recherches en Hydrobiologie Appliquee (CRRHA) at Bujumbura.
They had been ordered out of the country by the donors - the Belgian government- for
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security reasons. Current funding runs out in April 1996 and it was thought unlikely
that more would be forthcoming.
Monday. No word from the NC Gaspard Bikwemu and unfortunately a public
holiday. Met with de Vos, Vandelannote and Prof. Gaspard Nkatimaze to discuss
options for use of CRRHA facilities or staff. Obtained details of staff and salaries.
Visited Department of Fisheries and Hydrobiology at the Univ. of Burundi with Prof.
Nkatimaze.
Met with Roger Kanyaru, Director of Fisheries who had not been told by NC of our
visit.
Finally contacted Gaspard and arranged meeting for Tuesday. In spite of having faxed
Gaspard prior to our visit requesting him to convene a national working group
meeting, no working group meeting had been arranged because he claimed he did not
receive the fax until shortly before our visit. There is a tendancy for Dr Bikwemu to
keep project dealings contained within a small group of associates.
Tuesday: Visited UNDP and spoke to Mr Jean Kahibizi, programme officer and M
Christophe Boutonnier, the UNDP security officer. The said that the security
situation had improved (more recently it has deteriorated again) and confirmed we
would need walkie-talkies linked to the UNDP security system when working here.
The Burundian part of the lake was deemed fairly safe but no guarantees of safety
existed elsewhere. Outside Bujumbura car theft and general robbery are a greater threat
than death for whites.
Met with George Hanek (coordinator LTR) and Dr Nshombo Muderwa the new
Director General of the station at Uvira. General discussion about LTR cooperation
and forthcoming workshop. Mr Muderwa to be invited.
Met with Gaspard Bikwemu who yet again raised GoB objections to the project HQ
moving to Tanzania. He then proceeded to quote chapter and verse from the Project
Document regarding allocation of all posts and equipment. He insisted, although he
has since ameliorated his view, that posts and equipment should be exactly as
indicated in the document. We pointed out that there had been some modifications to
the project document already and these were indicated in the NRI proposal, of which
he has a copy, and that although equipment and staffing allocation would indeed be
based largely on the project document and NRI proposal fine tuning would be
required. We also confirmed that all regional, as apposed to country specific, technical
posts would be recruited from the region but that administrative support staff to the
PCU would of necessity by recruited in Tanzania. In discussing the Baseline Reviews
we explained that they would, at least in the first instance, be in English only but
with executive summaries in French; he accepted this.
Met with Prof Ndimaku (Univ of Burundi) and Mr Kinyomovyi (private coffee
farmer) of the NGO, ODEB (Organisation pour la Defense del' environment Burundi).
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A small but enthusiastic group who have carried out various clean up campaignes in
urban areas. They will be invited to the Inception workshop
Summary of contiguous visit to Kinshasa , 7 - 9 February 1996.
Fortunatley we were met by UNDP at the somewhat chaotic airport - highly
recommended. We first had a meeting with Mr Austin Amulu, programme officer and
Mr Aiov Diallo, the Resident Representative. Both gentlemen were extremely helpful,
interested in the project and offered all the support at their disposal. We were then
escorted by Mr Amulu to a prearranged meeting at the Ministry of Environment,
Nature Conservation and Tourism with the secretary general Mr Kena Mwauke and
Mr Amule, their designated National Coordinator. We handed them copies of the NRI
proposal which they had not seen and discussed the project in general. We agreed to
meet on the following day when they had had chance to read the proposal.
The following day we met with Kena Mwauke, Amule and Ir Makombo Bwanga
(Coordinator technique charge d'amenagement et planification de la Peche -
SENADEP. Main points from a very cordial meeting were:
· No offence was taken at the fact that the baseline reviews would be in English
with a French summary. They understood the rush to get them out and said they
were used to dealing with technical documents in English.

· They appreciated our concern about security for project personnel working in
Zaire as said they would arrange permission and conduct passes for us to (in
theory at least) work freely around the Zairois coastline and inland if needed. The
exact form of this pass was not clear but it is essential that we acquire some
substantial document for staff working in Zaire to carry with them. PC and
Scientific Liaison Officer will follow up.

· They were happy with the idea of trying to establish Kalemie as the more logical
base in Zaire rather than Uvira.

· They were keen to have the University and NGOs involved in the project and
provided a list of universities, departments and appropriate people. The list was
based on those involved with the Rio World Summit of 1992.

· The best way to contact the National Coordinator would be through UNDP with
whom they have good relations.
In general a very useful visit which established the project more firmly in the official
sphere of Zaire than any number of visits to Uvira would have achieved.
The principal activities in the forthcoming quarter will be the organisation of the
Inception Workshop and compilation of the Inception report. Other activities will
centre consolidation of offices and administration arrangements in Dar es Salaam and
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Kigoma and planning the financial and administration procedures for control and
operation of field station activites.
SPECIAL STUDIES
Sediment Discharge and Its Consequences
The special study `Sediment Discharge and Its Consequences' is under the
management of the Natural Resources Institute (NRI). It was originally managed by
Dr. I. Grant but this duty was passed over to Dr. G. Patterson on 1 December 1995.
Within the reporting period the principal objective was the production of the baseline
review of the special study. This was completed on 14 February 1996 in ample time
to be distributed to those taking part in the Inception Workshop commencing on 25
March 1996 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Based on the original UN project document the study breaks down into a number of
subgroups with balance of effort between the subgroups dictated by the amount of
person months envisaged for each sub-component.
This is as follows:
Land Use
4.5 pm
Sedimentology
9.0 pm
Plankton biology
9.0 pm
Limnology
9.0 pm
Fish biology
9.0 pm
The first two categories address the origin and nature of the sediment input to the lake
and the latter three categories address the impact of the sediment input on the biota
and factors which affect biotic processes. Effort was made within the baseline study
to reflect this balance. Considerations of how the study can be refocused based on the
baseline review will be considered at the inception workshop.
Land Use. This part of the baseline review was completed by J. Bennett, I. Downey
and M. Holland of NRI. Though a relatively small component it was felt that this
study depended heavily on archived data and involved trips to the region by I.
Downey (in combination with his role on establishing a GIS and remote sensing
programme) as well as for him and J. Bennett to Belgium to assess the archived data at
the Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale. They also visited Pierre-Denis Plisnier in
Belgium who has three years experience as limnologist on the FAO/FINNIDA project
on Lake Tanganyika. Details of the Information gathered are included in the baseline
review. Back to Office reports of these visits are also available.
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Sedimentology. This baseline study was carried out by R. Duck and J. McManus of
the University of St. Andrews, U.K. They obtained base data from the Institute of
Hydrology UK who have archived much of the data from the Tanzanian and Zambian
catchments of the lake (river gauging etc.). They also gained access to the kinds of
data held in Belgium on the Burundian and Zairian catchments.
Limnology. The baseline review of this aspect of the special study was completed
by P. Coveliers of the International Bureau for Environmental Studies, Belgium.
Coveliers has spent a number of years at Lake Tanganyika working specifically on the
impact of sediment input to Lake Tanganyika and its affects on the physical and
chemical properties of the water column.
Plankton biology & Fish biology. It was decided that these two areas be simply
combined as `Impact of sediments on biota'. The baseline review considers impact of
sediment on production, algae, aquatic macrophytes, zooplankton, benthic
invertebrates and fish. This involved a number of experts in the field (C. Cocquyt., P.
Coveliers, K. Irvine, K. Martens, J. McManus, G. Patterson, L. Risch, J. Snoeks and
E. Verheyen). It should be noted that many of these contributors exist in an informal
group (contact point K. Martens) who are named `the Lake Tanganyika biodiversity
assessment group'. The principal objectives of this group are to study aspects of the
extant biodiversity of Lake Tanganyika. Their incorporation into the project at this
early stage is a particularly useful asset.
All the important players within the sediment special study met in London on 15
January 1996 to discuss priority areas which should be considered by the Inception
Workshop. A summary of these discussions was added to the baseline review. Also
present at this meeting were representatives of the other special study groups.
Pollution and Its Consequences
This report covers three main aspects - meetings in UK, a visit to Burundi and
Tanzania, and miscellaneous matters and proposals.
UK meetings
I attended meetings of the project's Steering Group/Management Committee on 5
September 1995 (London), 16 January 1996 (London) and 8 March 1996 (Chatham).
The first two of these were concerned primarily with the start-up of the project and
attention to the scheduling and integration of the various work components - and the
Special Studies Baseline Reviews in particular. The March meeting focused very
much on the forthcoming Inception Workshop in Dar es Salaam. In being ultimately
responsible for the Special Study on 'Pollution of International Waters' I examined
firstly the areas of overlap between the this Study and those on Sediment Pollution
and Biodiversity. Secondly, with the preparation of the review on pollution and its
effects on biodiversity in mind, I also contributed to meetings (1-2 November 1995,
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15 January 1996 and 7 March 1996 - all in London). I proposed that the pollution
programme includes work on the effects of pollution on the lower biota (i.e. 'below'
fish, with fish being attended to under the main Biodiversity study). I have involved in
a number of the scientific meetings, my main co-consultant (Dr Chris Foxall of the
Centre of Environmental Risk Management, School of Environmental Sciences,
University of East Anglia). Chris, myself, and one of my colleagues in the Institute of
Freshwater Ecology, Edinburgh Laboratory (Miss Nicola Wiltshire) prepared the
Baseline Review on pollution and its effects on the lower organisms; we submitted the
document to NRI on 24 January 1996.
Visit to Burundi (7-15 November 1995) and Tanzania (16-21 November 1995)
My main reason for visiting to Bujumbura (Burundi) was to scan the quite
unparalleled library of Lake Tanganyika publications and reports in the FAO
FINNIDA's Lake Tanganyika Research (LTR) Documentation Centre. I also had my
first view of the northern, industrialised and populated end of the lake. George Hanek
(LTR's coordinator) was very helpful, and his scientists, librarian and associated
administrative staff also could not have been kinder or more accommodating. I met
some very interesting (and interested) Uvira (Za#rian) scientists associated with the
FINNIDA project, and Drs Luc de Vos (fish biologist) and Alain Vandelannoote
(limnologist) from the Centre Hydrobiologique de la Cooperation Belgo (CRRHA next
door to LTR). Everyone allowed me `free rein' with their reprint collections. My
thoughts on my particular areas of interest in the GEF project were generally well-
received. African and European investigators alike, thought that the proposals were
feasible as regards e.g. lake-wide coverage, and in aspiring to assess - at a few selected
sites at least - 'all' biota. I was especially encouraged by confirmation of my
impressions regarding the general scarcity of data on pollution and its biological
effects. We also agreed over another point that I raised and viewed as having a
considerable bearing on the GEF project. This relates to the fact that while there is no
shortage of data on many aspects, there is (with few exceptions) no information on
the `effort' (sample size) involved in generating species lists. As a consequence, it will
be difficult to compare previous findings with the new data. A major feature of the
new project is the generation of data in a manner that will allow straight comparisons
in the future and thus, real measures of change (or lack of change) to be established.
Discussion with GH confirmed that much of the pollution to the lake is centered
around the north end. Examples are Bujumbura with its beer factory, and the terrible
state of the roads and the canalisation of sewage. However, there are a number of
other centres of pollution around, and constituting pressure on, the lake. Examples are
the Kalemie Cement factory, gold and salt mining on the north-east side of the lake,
sugar cane plantations (with very rich waste liquor) and agricultural fertiliser and
pesticide runoff in the Rusizi catchment. The FAO FINNIDA project has generated
some impressive data - on hydrological behaviour and fisheries in particular I visited
(and worked with lap-top) on the r. v. 'Tanganyika Explorer'; this is a very clean and
extremely well-appointed, arranged and equipped vessel. I also caught up with Dr
John and Mrs Hilary Craig. John is FAO FINNIDA's Statistician and Scientific
Coordinator, and an old colleague from the Freshwater Biological Association (UK) .
Along with Dr Banister, I attended the 4th Joint meeting of the FAO FINNIDA Lake
11
Tanganyika Research Project, which involved FAO representatives and Finnish
Scientists. I gave a short talk on my thoughts as they stood at that time, regarding the
GEF Pollution-Biodiversity Special Study. I also suggested that the GEF pollution
study should draw on, rather than attempt to repeat the basic work being done under
the LTR, but integrate and collaborate in every aspect; this seemed to be well-
received.
I travelled by boat to Kigoma to meet the staff of the Tanzania Fisheries Research
Institute (TAFIRI) and the FAO FINNIDA LTR project there. Mr Chitambebwe
(Director, TAFIRI) is very interested in the GEF project, and was extremely
accommodating in showing Dr Banister and myself the existing office, store and
laboratory facilities. He also much of the weekend showing us a range of lake shoreline
habitats (pebbly, sandy, muddy) in and around the Kigoma area. This was valuable in
gaining an impression of the types of sampling equipment that will be needed for
assessing pollution status and associated biota in such areas. I spent much of my last
day in Kigoma with the Finnish group, their Tanzanian counterparts, and Mr
Chitambebwe demonstrating (i) how they can obtain a good 'soup' of phytoplankton
(even from the lake's Kigoma Bay which contained only 0.3 ppb chlorophyll at the
time) for studies on copepod generation times, and (ii) how to estimate the population
densities of phytoplankton.
Miscellaneous
More recently in the period covered by this report, I have explored with NRI the
possibility of placing two UK graduates (Nicola Wiltshire from my laboratory and
Dawn Ives from UEA) in Africa for the duration of the Pollution-Biodiversity study.
Ideally, they would be involved with local staff even in establishing laboratory and
field facilities, and executing synoptic sampling and analytical programmes. These
placements would obviously strengthen the links between the local consultants and Dr
Foxall and myself. More importantly, however, they would enhance the collaboration
at the field and laboratory levels (of the sort already exercised as indicated above) that
is crucial to the success of this Special Study. It is stressed, that this resource input
would be additional to, not a substitute for, the inputs by Dr Foxall and myself.
BIODIVERSITY AND LEGAL STUDIES (MRAG)
Preparatory visit of Dr Ian Payne, MRAG Programme Leader to Tanzania.
Exploratory discussions were held with Water Development and sections of Ministry
of Environment in Dar-es-Salaam and the regions.
August - September 1995
Preparatory meetings with partners to establish structure and organisation of project.
Dialogue with NRI culminating in signing letter of agreement between MRAG and
NRI. Definition of the contribution of MRAG includes responsibility for the conduct
of special studies in Legal Aspects, Biodiversity and Fishing Practices and
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Biodiversity along with the relevant Baseline Reviews and inputs to the overall
environmental planning.
October 1995
Baseline reviews were discussed and commissioned to a deadline of December 1995.
Visits were made to Tanzania by MRAG personnel, I Payne and V Cowan, where
further contacts with the Water Department were explored and additional contacts
were made with the regional offices of the Wildlife Department and Tanzania National
Parks (TANAPA), particularly with a view to understanding the mechanisms by
which national parks and conservation areas are established and administered. An
institutional appraisal was also made of the administrative operations at regional,
district and community levels in Tanzania. It was clear that the Community
Development Officer system bridges these levels of administration and can articulate
with the Planning Services, a system highly appropriate to facilitating the need for
bringing the local communities into the planning process and the final consensus for
any strategic plan.
During the month a workshop, bringing together the most prominent international
experts on Lake Tanganyika, was organised by MRAG specifically to begin the
planning of the Biodiversity special study.
Advantage was taken of the presence of George Coulter in UK to have two days of
discussions between him and MRAG staff (IP, VC) and also Rosemary Lowe-
McConnell, in order to bring that extensive experience to bear in the planning of the
project.
November 1995
A two day international workshop was held by MRAG within Imperial College,
London which bought together some of the most experienced people on Lake
Tanganyika, including Frits Roest, Rosemary Lowe-McConnell, Andy Cohen,
Jacques Moreau and the views of George Coulter were also presented. The planning
groups of NRI and IFE also attended. The Agenda is appended. A summary
document is being produced.
December 1995
Draft of sections of Baseline reviews were received and editing commenced.
January - February 1996
Baseline reviews were finalised and planning of special studies continued. Planning
meetings of MRAG teams conducted to finalise work plans. Rosemary Lowe-
McConnell has been included in these meetings as an independent authority.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC, SECTORAL STUDIES AND
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
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1. Work is well underway, through a number of external sub-contracts and internal
commissions. The report will be quite complex (see outline structure) since it covers
a number of different sectors. Any comments on emphasis and priority to be given in
different sections would be appreciated. It will be a source document for future work,
resulting primarily from a comprehensive desk review of available materials, plus
limited in-region investigation.
Progress to date
2. A regional socio- economic overview and a full bibliography have been
prepared by APEX Ltd, through a sub-contract with NRI. They have also gathered
material on the Tanzanian side of the Lake basin from Uppsala University Centre for
African Studies (the most comprehensive African Studies collection in Europe). This
will be fed into a review of land use and agrarian change in the Malagarasi
catchment (the major river feeding the Lake from the east; the catchment is the greater
part of the lake basin land area. Contacts in Belgium have been explored to identify
francophone literature on Burundi and Zaire; very little relevant material has been
identified however.
3. A Kenyan researcher (Sarah Bottelberg) based in Tanzania has been hired
through the British Council in Dar. She will feed material gathered in Dar into the land
use / agrarian change review, making contacts and arranging meetings with socio-
economic and natural resource research institutions in Dar and Morogoro, plus
some NGOs, for my trip to Tanzania. We shall attempt to review the capacity of
these institutions and their possible contributions to the project next week (however
this will not provide a review of the capacity of the implementing government
institutions)
4. APEX Ltd are also providing a review of environment policy and strategies in
Zambia and Tanzania, although there is no parallel source material available for
Zaire and Burundi. They are also preparing a section of the report on refugees in
the lake basin area (mainly around Kigoma and Uvira), the environmental impacts,
with up-to-date figures and a prognosis on the security situation in Rwanda and
Burundi, and its implications for the basin area.
5. On Fisheries socio-economics, SSD did a literature search at Portsmouth
University. Key materials have been obtained from FAO/Bujumbura, and these are
being reviewed, with other available documentation, by Ann Grey, an economist
recently recruited to SSD with Mozambique fisheries experience.
6. Conservation and protected area policies, and experiences of participation to
date in the four lake states are being reviewed by Richard Zanre (SSD Research
Assistant) with guidance from Cathy MacKenzie, of SSD, and myself. As a tourism
specialist, Richard has also reviewed tourism in the lake basin and the prospects
for tourist development (his draft review was previously circulated).
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7. Information on forestry and deforestation in the lake region is highly scattered,
but a list of contacts has been assembled; these should also provide sources of
information on terrestrial biology and conservation in the region if other team members
need it. I shall attempt to review available information on forestry and fuelwood
issues on my return from Tanzania.
8. A baseline review of resources, institutions and prospects for Environmental
Education in the region has been commissioned from Paul Vare, of ICCE a
specialist on environmental education in Africa. He has prepared some background
notes, gathered information from contacts in Zambia, and is visiting Tanzania this
week, where he will meet various environmental NGOs. In Dar we shall begin work
on a draft programme for project education work with Peter Llewellyn of the British
Council. He shall submit his report in the week of 18 December.
Schedule for report production
9. I expect that all the different elements of the report will be assembled and given a
first edit to produce a draft report by 22 December. My understanding is that we
would aim for completion, and circulation of the baseline reports by mid- January
1996, to allow time for circulation and preparation of the inception workshop to take
place in late February 1996. Outstanding tasks for early January will be:
· final edit of the document
· some further work on baseline maps to accompany the report
· review and rewrite the "discussion" section on prospects for participation in lake
basin management, gaps in knowledge and the role of socio-economic work in the
project
· preparation of a detailed draft workplan for special studies for years 1-2
10. The second point will require some further work with ESD (Ian Downey /Martin
Rothery). The last two points will require some dialogue with the rest of the project
team, including feedback from Andy and Keith in Tanzania, and consideration of the
proposals for the special studies as a whole. As proposed earlier, the workplan for
the special studies would not be finalised until after the inception workshop, which
would review the draft proposals.
Recruitment of socio-economic liaison officer
11. SSD will need to get to work on this in January. So far we have identified a few
potential candidates in Tanzania, but are yet to canvass relevant institutions, or fully
specify the job description, or identify where this person would operate from. I shall
explore these questions further in Dar-es-Salaam next week. Following Andy Menz's
discussions in New York we understand that we have the flexibility, to recruit an
international member of staff for a limited period, while training in a national of the
region, if we judge this to be the best approach. However the options need to be
reviewed on my return from Tanzania, and the financial implications considered.
15
Remote Sensing and GIS Components
The technical inputs on remote sensing and GIS to support the "Pollution Control and
Other Measures to Protect Biodiversity in Lake Tanganyika" project are under the
management of the Natural Resources Institute (NRI). The coordination of these
inputs is being managed by Mr. I. Downey.
There are two separate components:
·
Remote sensing and GIS integration to support the project overall
·
Installation of a LARST NOAA receiver
Within the reporting period the principal objective was the production of the baseline
review of capabilities and data sources to support the special studies. This was
completed on 14 February 1996 with sufficient time to be incorporated into the
relevant special studies (particularly Land Use - Sediment Discharge) and be
distributed to those taking part in the Inception Workshop commencing on 25 March
1996 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Based on the original UN project document the remote sensing and GIS technical
inputs break down into equipment and manpower requirements. The demands on
these resources from the respective special studies are to be clarified in light of the
baseline reviews. The inputs are quantified as follows:
Item
$
RS/GIS Manpower (5 pm)
20,230
Visits
4,678
GIS Systems
46,800
LARST System
60,000
Data Archives
52,200
Total
159,000
Information on suitable archived remote sensing and GIS data has been collected in
preparation for the start of the special studies. Consideration of how the remote
sensing and GIS inputs will be integrated with the special studies will be developed at
the inception workshop. A visit was made to the region by Mr. Downey in
November 1995 to assess capabilities and data sources in support of the baseline
reviews. The visit covered Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia and key institutes were
visited in Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam and Lusaka. A separate visit report is available
on request.
A LARST NOAA site inspection was made at the TAFIRI sites in Kigoma in
preparation for the installation of a NOAA satellite receiver system. A suitable site
16
was identified. It was agreed that training in data acquisition and processing will
involve all the TAFIRI scientists with two of them given special responsibility for
running the installation on a routine basis. The LARST specification has been
completed and the equipment can be mobilised promptly. A separate, detailed site
inspection report is available on request.
A visit was made to the Musée Royal de l'Afrique Central, Belgium by I. Downey and
M. Holland to assess the archived data there. The remote sensing and GIS inputs will
depend heavily on access to archived data and there a number of different materials of
relevance held there. They also visited Pierre-Denis Plisnier in Belgium who has
recently returned from a three year tour as limnologist on the FAO/FINNIDA project
on Lake Tanganyika. Details of the Information gathered are included in the baseline
review. Back to Office reports of these visits are also available.

Document Outline