Yala wetland is a biodiversity rich and diverse ecosystem comprised of the Yala River, Yala swamp and numerous satellite lakes which serve as habitat for birds, haplochromines and cichlid fish species that long disappeared in Lake Victoria and numerous other species. The wetland faces anthropogenic threats such as reclamation of wetlands for farming, burning and over-harvesting for papyrus crafts and cooking fuel, fishing grounds, accessibility paths and sand harvesting.

Lake Victoria's Yala Wetland is made up of mainly papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) stands. It is an internationally recognized Important Bird Area that hosts many bird species found only in papyrus stands, some of which can only be found in Lake Victoria swamps. Two of these birds, papyrus yellow warbler (Chloroptera gracilinostris) and papyrus gonolek (Laniarius mufumbiri) are listed as globally threatened species which require urgent conservation action.¹ The swamp provides social, economic and ecological benefits, values and functions to the community and its biodiversity.

Dansk Ornitologisk Forening (DOF) and BirdLife partners in the South (Nature Kenya, Nature Uganda and Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN)), are running a three-year project that began in 2015. The project places a strong emphasis on promoting equality of women and their access to programme benefits and participation, addressing inclusion of indigenous and other marginalised groups, networking and strengthened influence of local civil society groups_and advocacy within the national contexts of programme partner countries.

The proposed project focuses on the two districts of Mpulungu and Nsama, in the Northern Province of Zambia.It aims to maintain globally significant biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services that it provides to society Improved management of landscapes and seascapes. It aims to promote sustainable land management in production systems (agriculture, rangelands, and forest landscapes).

Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research and Economic Development (PREPARED) was a 5-year programme (2013-2018) funded by USAID, which aimed to strengthen the resilience of these fragile transboundary freshwater ecosystems and communities while also working to provide support for the development of more sustainable East African economies.