Victoria

Tanganyika

Malawi

Turkana

Albert

Kivu Edward

Kyoga

Tana

Naivasha

Chilwa

Rukwa Mweru

East African Great Lakes Observatory

Investigator Professor Eric Odada

Institution University of Nairobi

Start Date 1 November, 2010

End Date 31 October, 2012

NERC Ref NE/I003266/1

Partners • Held two regional workshops

• EA lakes, rivers and wetlands of the Great Lakes region are unique natural resources • are heavily utilized by their bordering countries for transportation,

water supply, fisheries, waste disposal, recreation and tourism. • Over the past decades, they have come under considerable pressure

from a variety of interlinked human activities such as: • Siltation, eutrophication, overfishing, species introductions and

industrial pollution. • The Great Lakes basins are the most densely populated regions in

eastern Africa - Lake Victoria basin for example has 30 million people and this is expected to double by 2025.

Introduction

Current state

Questions to Ponder (1) 1. How have ecosystems changed? • EAGL ecosystems have been significantly transformed through human

actions • Lake and basin ecosystems depend on fundamental environmental

cycles such as the continuous circulation of water, carbon, and other that are subject to change

• Biodiversity changes in numbers, richness, geographical spread.

Nic Pacini Nic Pacini

Questions to Ponder (2) • How have ecosystem services and their uses changed?

– The use of resources such as food, water, and timber – Human interventions have led to changes in the regulation of

climate, disease, and other ecosystems processes – The use of ecosystems for recreation, spiritual enrichment, and

other cultural purposes is growing. However, the capacity of ecosystems to provide these services has declined significantly.

– Fish catch fluctuations

Questions to Ponder (3) • How have ecosystem changes affected human well-being

and poverty alleviation? – Human well-being depends on material welfare, health, good social

relations, security, and freedom. – Ecosystem services, particularly food production, timber and

fisheries, are important for employment and economic activity – Levels of poverty remain high in the great lakes despite potential of

ecosystems services – There is potential for ecosystem changes such as increased food

production to help millions of people out of poverty

Questions to Ponder (4) • What are the most critical factors causing ecosystem changes?

– Natural or human-induced factors that change ecosystems called drivers.

– The main indirect drivers are changes in human population, economic activity, and technology, as well as socio-political and cultural factors.

– Important direct drivers include: habitat change, climate change, invasive species, overexploitation, and pollution.

Tools 1. Monitoring - in-situ and earth observation 2. Modelling socio-economic, biogeochemical, hydrological 3. Management technologies, focusing on regional trends in

lake ecosystem dynamics. These tools enable the simulation of the mutual feedbacks

between socio-economic drivers, climate and regional environmental change (e.g. trends in watershed and airshed conditions) and ecosystem services.

Project Activities

4. Co-management challenges and opportunities in the African Great Lakes (Working Group 4)

5. Expected Impacts of Climate Change on the African Great Lakes and Potential Response Strategies (Working Group 5)

Working groups 1. Monitoring ecosystem dynamics and services in the East African

Great Lake (Working Group 1) 2. Regional management and communication (Working Group 2) 3. Ecosystem scenario simulation and analysis (Working Group 3)

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•Lake Albert north & south • Lake Chilwa •Lake Edward •Lake Kivu north & south •Lake Kyoga •Lake Malawi north, northcentre, centre, southcentre, south •Lake Mweru north & south •Lake Naivasha •Lake Rukwa •Lake Tana •Lake Tanganyika north, northcentre, centre, southcentre, south •Lake Turkana north & south •Lake Victoria north, centre, south

Average lake and climate dynamics 2002 - 2011

EAGLO Activities Satellite Monitoring approaches

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EAGLO Activities Satellite Monitoring approaches

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EAGLO Activities Satellite Monitoring approaches

Co-Management (fisheries)

AUTHORITIES PERSPECTIVE • Boat registration • Fishing licenses • Insufficient staff • Development of policy and

legislation • Monitoring, control &

surveillance

FISHERMEN PERSPECTIVES • Too many fishermen • Too many fishing gears • Catches too small • Revenues too small • Fuel prices too high • 10 years ago fishing was

better • Food insecurity

Integrated Lake Basin Management

M. Nakamura

Do What We Can!

M. Nakamura, RCSE Shiga University, Chairman ILEC Scientific Committee

M. Nakamura, RCSE Shiga University, Chairman ILEC Scientific Committee

Everyone Lives in the Basin of some Lentic System, and ILBM helps them Live Happily

February 2004

October 2005

19

May 2003 October 2005

House hold provides 21 days/year free labour In this year about 7.2 million people participated, in Amhara Region

Optical quality

Nutrient screening

• AGL water database • GLEON, GEMS

Local action: Community awareness / health

ecosystem change

hydrological conditions

EAGLO OLED on-line Lake ecosystem database

AGL Research output / position papers

Local policy agency (Water

commission/Fisheries)

Field Research In lake ecosystem

monitoring by local communities

Data Usage - Contribute to local policy - Local action - International databases

EAGLO Activities - possible future activity Monitoring – community lake monitoring

site specific sampling

Gully rehabilitation with multi purpose forage seeds (Lenche Dima Watershed, Tana)

Gwakiongo Community managed Dam April 2012 (Nic Pacini)

Benefits?

Gwakiongo Community managed Dam April 2012 (Nic Pacini)

Soil erosion control Water quality Tree nursery Recreation Aesthetic value Sense of community Religious practices Education

Achievements

• Regional database • EAGLO Website • Regional network of different stakeholders-

Scientists, Lake Managers, communities

Satellite-based monitoring strategies

EAGLO Activities - possible future activity Monitoring – community lake monitoring

Advantages Low cost/ low technology (1$US/per datapoint)

Standard methodologies

High geographic dispersion

Common methodology and single database

Community engagement

Community empowerment

Donor supported

Flexible and complementary to regular monitoring

Disadvantages Limited resolution (screening or survey technique) Requires (minimum) training Requires (minimum) connectivity for data upload East African Great Lake Obs.

Online ecosystem database

Optical properties

Nutrient screening

Catchment inflow Lake ecosystem observations

EAGLO Activities - possible future activity Monitoring – community lake monitoring

Publications, Theses and Conference Proceedings from EAGLO

1. Harper, D.M, Morrison, E.H.J., Macharia, M.M., Mavuti, K.M., Upton, C. (2011). Lake Naivasha,

Kenya: ecology, society and future. Freshwater Reviews 4, 89‐114. 2. Morrison E.H.J, Upton, C., Odhiambo‐K’oyooh, K. & Harper D.M., (2012). Managing the natural

capital of papyrus within riparian zones of Lake Victoria, Kenya. Hydrobiologia, 692; 5-17 3. Morrison E.H.J., Upton C., Pacini N., Mavuti K.M. Chege N.E., Ole Kiminta E. & Harper D.M. (in

press b). Integrated Ecohydrology for Integrated Catchment Management: Lake Naivasha, Kenya, a global reference project. In Khan, S (Eds) Ecohydrology, Cambridge University Press.

4. Morrison, E. H. J., Upton, C., Pacini, N., Odhiambo-K’oyooh, K. & Harper, D. M. (in press a) Public perceptions of papyrus: community appraisal of wetland ecosystem services at Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology

5. Morrison, E.H.J. Banzaert, A. Upton, C., Pacini, N., Pokorný, J. and Harper, D.M. (in press c) Biomass briquettes: a novel incentive for managing papyrus wetlands sustainably. Wetlands Ecology & Management.

6. Odada, E. Ballatore, T. (in preparation) Comparative analysis of factors affecting the management playing field for international lake basins in East Africa

7. Upton C., Ochola, W.O. (draft). Scenarios for the future: planning for climate change adaptation in East Africa

8. Harper, D.M, Morrison, E.H.J., Macharia, M.M., Mavuti, K.M., Upton, C. (2011). Lake Naivasha, Kenya: ecology, society and future. Freshwater Reviews 4, 89‐114.

Publications, Theses and Conference Proceedings from EAGLO

9. Ngupula, G. W., Ezekiel, C. N., Kimirei, I. A., Mboni, E., and Kashindye, B. (2012) Physical and chemical

characteristics of the Tanzanian inshore and offshore waters of Lake Victoria in 2005-2008. African Journal of Aquatic Science 37(3):339-345

10. Cózar A., M. Bruno, N. Bergamino, B. Úbeda, L. Bracchini, A. M. Dattilo, S. A. Loiselle 2012. Basin-scale Control on the Phytoplankton Biomass in Lake Victoria, Africa, PLoS ONE 7(1): e29962

11. Morrison E.H.J, Upton, C., Odhiambo‐K’oyooh, K. & Harper D.M., (2012). Managing the natural capital of papyrus within riparian zones of Lake Victoria, Kenya. Hydrobiologia, 692; 5-17

12. Ballatore, T.J., S.R. Bradt, L. Olaka, A. Cózar, S.A. Loiselle (in review) Remote Sensing of African Lakes: A Review

13. Loiselle S.A., A. Cozar, E. Adgo, T. Ballatore, G. Chavula, JP. Descy, D. Harper, F.Kansiime, I.Kimirei, V. Langenberg, R. Ma, H. Sarmento, E. Odada (in review) Large scale trends in the temporal dynamics of the African Great Lakes

14. Tebbs, E., J. Remedios & D. Harper (in review) Remote sensing of chlorophyll-a as a measure of cyanobacterial biomass in Lake Bogoria, a hypertrophic, saline-alkaline, flamingo lake, using Landsat ETM+

15. Tebbs, E., J. Remedios, S. Avery & D. Harper (in review) Remote sensing the hydrological variability of Tanzania's Lake Natron, a vital Lesser Flamingo breeding site under

16. Morrison, E. H. J., Upton, C., Pacini, N., Odhiambo-K’oyooh, K. & Harper, D. M. (in press a) Public perceptions of papyrus: community appraisal of wetland ecosystem services at Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology

17. Morrison E.H.J., Upton C., Pacini N., Mavuti K.M. Chege N.E., Ole Kiminta E. & Harper D.M. (in press b). Integrated Ecohydrology for Integrated Catchment Management: Lake Naivasha, Kenya, a global reference project. In Khan, S (Eds) Ecohydrology, Cambridge University Press.

18.Morrison, E.H.J. Banzaert, A. Upton, C., Pacini, N., Pokorný, J. and Harper, D.M. (in press c) Biomass briquettes: a novel incentive for managing papyrus wetlands sustainably. Wetlands Ecology & Management.

19.Van der Knaap, M., D. Manara Kamitenga, L. Ngoie Many, A. Esube Tambwe, and G.J. De Graaf (in review) Lake Tanganyika Fisheries in post-conflict Democratic Republic of Congo.

20.Van der Knaap, M., K.I. Katonda, and G.J. De Graaf (in review) Assessment and Management of data-poor Fisheries of Lake Tanganyika

21.Van der Knaap, M. (in review) Comparative analysis of fisheries restoration and public participation in Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika

22.Odada, E. Ballatore, T. (in preparation) Comparative analysis of factors affecting the management playing field for international lake basins in East Africa

23.PhD Thesis ‘Remote sensing for the study of ecohydrology in alkaline-saline lakes’ Emma Tebbs, Leicester UK.

Conference proceedings: 24.Langenberg, V. T. and E. Odada, A Review of the impact of climate change on East African lake productivity: implications for

future carrying capacity, NASAC-KNAW Conference, Nairobi, February 2011 25.Tebbs, E.J., A. Mac Arthur, J. Remedios, S. Avery & D. Harper, ‘Investigating the hyperspectral signatures of alkaline-saline

lakes, for the remote sensing of primary producers from planktonic and benthic sources’, Proceedings of EARSel 7th Workshop on Imaging Spectroscopy, April 2011, Edinburgh, UK

26.Tebbs, E., J. Remedios, S. Avery & D. Harper, ‘Development of remote sensing algorithms for monitoring biomass of primary producers in alkaline-saline lakes from planktonic and benthic sources’, Proceedings of 31st EARSeL Symposium, June 2011, Prague, Czech Republic

27.Odada, E. D. Harper, F. Kansiime, V. Langenberg, S. Loiselle, W. Ochola, C. Upton, Regional approaches to ecosystem services in the Great Lakes of Africa, Planet Under Pressure, London March 2012

28.Tebbs, E., J. Remedios & D. Harper, ‘Remote sensing of chlorophyll-a in alkaline-saline lakes using MERIS’, Proceedings of the 3rd MERIS/(A)ATSR and OCLI-SLSTR (Sentinel-3) Preparatory Workshop, October 2012, Frascati, Italy.

29.Loiselle S.A., E. Odada, A. Cozar, T. Ballatore, Bio-optical variability in the East African Great Lakes: new tools to examine the dynamics of the carbon, water and nutrient cycles in the world’s largest water bodies, "Water in the Anthropocene. Challenges for Science and Governance: Indicators, Thresholds and Uncertainties in the Global Water System." May 2013

Future research needs and opportunities identified

• Developing more robust trans-boundary methods which will allow

stakeholders and decision makers to manage the lakes. – East African Deposition Network (Atmospheric Nutrient Loading to the lakes)

On going for lake Victoria

• Integrated policy actions • Improving the south-south and south-north co-operation • Constructing a regional knowledge basis - Sharing