Riparian ecosystem resilience and livelihood strategies under test: lessons from Lake Chilwa in Malawi and other lakes in Africa

Abstract

This paper reviews the importance of African lakes and their management challenges. African inland lakes contribute significantly to food security, livelihoods and national economies through direct exploitation of fisheries, water resources for irrigation and hydropower generation. Because of these key contributions, the ecosystem services provided are under significant stress mainly owing to high demand by increasing populations, negative anthropogenic impacts on lake catchments and high levels of poverty which result in unsustainable use. Climate variability exacerbates the stress on these ecosystems. Current research findings show that the lakes cannot sustain further development activities on the scale seen over the past few decades. Millions of people are at risk of losing livelihoods through impacts on livestock and wildlife. The review further shows that the problems facing these lakes are beyond the purview of current management practices. A much better understanding of the interactions and feedbacks between different components of the lake socio-ecological systems is needed to address the complex challenges of managing these ecosystem services. This review suggests that the three small wetlands of Chad, Chilwa and Naivasha provide an opportunity for testing novel ideas that integrate sustainability of natural resource management with livelihoods in order to inform policy on how future land use and climatic variability will affect both food security and the ecosystem services associated with it.

Spatio-temporal variation of fish taxonomic composition in a South-East Asian flood-pulse system

“…In 1990, it was estimated that over 120 million people were involved in fisheries related activities, including capture, processing and sale of fish with 95% of them located in developing countries [3]. In Malawi, fishing activities from Lake Chilwa support about US$18 million annually while Lake Naivasha support an export-oriented agriculture valued at US$ 613–640 million [4]. Likewise, annual fish production from the Tonle Sap Great Lake (TSL) was estimated at 180,000 to 250,000 tons, representing approximately 60% of the total fish production of Cambodia [5].…”

Seasonal Migration and Settlement around Lake Chad: Strategies for Control of Resources in an Increasingly Drying Lake

“…These include the lake water and its tributaries used for consumption; grasses around the lake shores and intertidal zones used as fodder, as well as raw materials for handicraft industries. Fish remain the key economic resource and is a source of protein for millions of people that depend on it [1][2][3]. The lake is also an important economic resource for the Sahelian population in the four countries that surround it.…”

Achieving food and environmental security: new approaches to close the gap

“…While hunger levels have been reduced in Africa since the 1990s, one in three of the population is undernourished despite the agricultural potential of the African continent [15]. Chiota and co-workers [16] use lessons from Lake Chilwa in Malawi to illustrate ecosystem and livelihood resilience for the 1.5 million people directly reliant on services from the Lake Chilwa basin. The shallow lake is very susceptible to erratic rainfall and high evaporation rates, threatening a drought in the very near future.…”