The Republic of Zambia hosted the Twelfth Ordinary Meeting of the Management Committee and the Eleventh Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of Ministers of Lake Tanganyika Authority (LTA) which were held from 13 to 17 November 2023 at Mulungushi International Conference Center in Lusaka. These meetings of two LTA statutory bodies were attended by representatives from the four Lake Tanganyika riparian countries, namely Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as representatives of the partners who support LTA in the protection of Lake Tanganyika and its basin, including the European Union (EU), the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel), the Global Environment Facility/United Nations Environment Program/United Nations Office for Project Support Services (GEF/UNEP/UNOPS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Lake Tanganyika development project.
The opening ceremonies of LTA Management Committee were marked by statements of LTA Management Committees Chairpersons for the Republic of Zambia, the Republic of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The statements were followed by remarks of LTA Executive Director, Mr. TUSANGA MUKANGA Sylvain, the Regional Chairperson of LTA Management Committee and Director of Environment in the Office of the Vice- President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ms. KEMILEMBE SALOME MUTASA, and by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment of the Republic of Zambia, Dr. Douty Chibamba, who was the meeting opening ceremony guest of honor.
The activity reports presented at the meetings indicated the situation of 4 LTA projects, two of which are about to start and the other two under preparation.
These include:
1. TAKIWAMA Project: Contributing to improving the management of water resources, biodiversity and human and economic development in the Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kivu basin (2024-2029), that is, 5 years of implementation; Budget: 31 million euros).
2. GEF/UNEP UNOPS Project: Biodiversity conservation, sustainable land management and water security enhancement in the Lake Tanganyika basin. The process of recruiting the project management team is underway: Project Manager, Finance Director and country liaison officers to be recruited from member countries.
3. Project to support Lake Tanganyika regional integrated development program (PRODAP) – Phase II: A $1 million amount was requested from the African Development Bank by the LTA Secretariat (LTAS) for the preparation of the project feasibility study and the project document development.
4. Integrated Development and Climate Change Adaptation Program in the Lake Tanganyika Basin (PIDACC/LTB): a concept note was prepared and submitted to the African Water Facility (AWF) on April 28, 2023 to apply for a 660,000 – euro financial support for the project preparation. The LTAS has been informed that following the evaluation of the proposals by the AWF in accordance with the criteria provided in the call for proposals, LTAS concept note was shortlisted for inclusion under AWF projects.
It is also worth noting that the Republic of Zambia is going to chair LTA Management committee until November 2026 (3 years). Thus, a chairmanship handover and take over session was held between Tanzania (Ms. KEMILEMBE SALOME MUTASA, outgoing chairperson) and Zambia (Mr. NGODWIN FISHANI GONDWE, incoming chairperson) on November 16, 2023 at the end of the twelfth ordinary meeting of LTA Management Committee.
LTA Conference of Ministers was held at Mulungushi International Conference Center in Lusaka on November 17, 2023.
The opening ceremony was held after closed-door consultations between Ministers with participation of LTA Regional Chairperson and the Executive Director. This opening ceremony of the eleventh meeting of LTA Conference of Ministers was marked by statements of the various partners mentioned above as well as speeches delivered respectively by the Ministers from Burundi (H.E. Eng. Prosper DODIKO), DR Congo (represented by Ms. Pascaline Mbangu Kikumbi, Secretary General for Fisheries and Livestock), Tanzania (Hon. Dr. Selemani Saidi Jafo) and Zambia (Hon. Eng. Collins Nzovu).
In their statements, all speakers clearly expressed their desire to support the implementation of the Convention on the Sustainable Management of Lake Tanganyika and the Strategic Action Program for the protection of biodiversity and the sustainable management of the natural resources in Lake Tanganyika and its basin.
A chairmanship handover and takeover ceremony was held between the Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock of Burundi (outgoing chairperson) and the Minister of Green Economy and Environment of Zambia (incoming chairperson).
The Conference of Ministers endorsed several documents and initiatives, especially:
1. The 2022 annual report.
2. The 2023 year progress report.
3. The 2024 annual work plan and budget (AWPB 2024).
4. The protocol for the development of aquaculture in Lake Tanganyika and its basin.
5. The report on the study for the identification, characterization and mapping of potential sites for the development of cage aquaculture in Lake Tanganyika.
6. The report of the study on key biodiversity areas on Lake Tanganyika and its basin.
7. The road map for the implementation of the Lake Tanganyika fisheries co-management guidelines.
8. The conduction of the international conference on Lake Tanganyika in 2024 in Bujumbura, Burundi.
To conclude, we can assert that the eleventh meeting of LTA Conference of Ministers and the twelfth meeting of the Management Committee had the merit of dealing with specific questions regarding the management of natural resources and the protection of Lake Tanganyika by providing a new impetus to the coordination of the implementation of activities both at the national and the regional levels.