The Nature Conservancy is partnering with local communities Non-Government Organizations, government and research institutions in Tanzania, DR Congo and Burundi, to conserve the now threatened, Lake Tanganyika.
The organizations are undertaking a new Trans boundary, Lake Tanganyika Freshwater Program to deliver a unified vision of a well-managed water body which can sustain both people and nature for generations.
The program’s founding partners include, the Lake Tanganyika Authority, Frankfurt Zoological Society, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in DR Congo, and Sustain Lake Tanganyika.
“It is important to work across the entire basin,” says Beatrice Marwa, Regional Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture for the Lake Tanganyika Authority based in Burundi.
“We have the trans boundary resources, whereby they need to be managed in a harmonized measure because if one country affects the resource, then the impact goes to the four countries,” pointed out Marwa.
Marwa added that it was thus very important to organize those countries to come together and manage the resource so that they can sustainably continue to benefit from it.
A report from The Nature Conservancy reveals that beneath the surface of Lake Tanganyika lies a story millions of years in the making.
The lake has a tale of life, resilience, and the delicate balance that sustains one of the world’s most extraordinary ecosystems which shares shorelines with Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia.
This ancient lake holds 17 percent of the world’s surface freshwater and plunges to depths of 1,470 meters, making it the second-deepest freshwater lake on Earth. It is also Africa’s longest lake at 673 kilometers, a lifeline that stretches across borders and unites the lives of millions.
Lake Tanganyika is home to over 1,500 species, including more than 250 species of endemic cichlids. But the lake is more than just a natural wonder—it is a shared resource that demands collective stewardship and equitable management.
Threats to Lake Tanganyika’s Ecosystem
Growing populations and unsustainable fishing practices have pushed Lake Tanganyika to the brink. Climate change compounds these challenges, altering water temperatures, reducing fish production, and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.
The consequences are stark: decreased fish yields, threatened biodiversity, and heightened vulnerability for local communities dependent on the lake’s resources.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices, such as beach seining and fishing with fine mesh mosquito nets that capture juvenile fish, continue to devastate fish populations and degrade critical habitats.
Agricultural and sediment runoff, along with unhealthy household practices, such as washing too close to the lake’s edge, can threaten the sensitive fish breeding areas.
The Nature Conservancy, banking on over a decade of experience working with fishing communities on Lake Tanganyika’s shores through the Tuungane Project, is now spearheading efforts to scale up community protection and best management practices for fisheries and freshwater biodiversity conservation across the entire four-nation lake.