Government of Tanzania

Lake Tanganyika is an important ecosystem in eastern Africa, which historically has supported one of the world’s most productive freshwater fisheries. However, stocks of important commercial fish have decreased significantly. Scientific evidence suggests that fisheries are partly threatened by climate driven reductions in lake productivity.

The Mara River basin covers a surface of 13,325 km², of which approximately 65 percent is located in Kenya and 35 percent in Tanzania. From its sources in the Mau Escarpment, the river flows for about 400 km and drains into Lake Victoria. The basin is among the most important river basins in East Africa as it traverses the world-famous Maasai Mara Serengeti ecosystem recently declared one of the new seven natural wonders of the world.

The Kagera Basin, which lies within the four countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, is characterized by low-production subsistence agriculture and widespread poverty. Severe land degradation in the area is linked to loss of soil fertility caused by population pressure and primitive farming methods. The basin countries rank among the world's poorest countries. Land cover depletion including deforestation is wide-spread with almost total absence of reforestation activities.