A recent expert review of the ecological risks of net pen aquaculture in the North American Great Lakes made a number of recommendations for Best Management Practices (BMPs) that should be applied to establishment of net pen farms. Based on that_study, researchers identified nine generic BMPs that could be applied to all Global Great Lakes.
Earth system models are the only scientific tools yet developed that are capable of integrating the multitude of physical, chemical and biological processes that determine past, present and future climate. Researchers here use the Community Earth System Model (CESM) to generate depictions of environmental futures under climate change specifically to serve stakeholder needs for each of the major Great Lake watersheds.
This project is empowering local communities to safeguard their unique ecosystems through establishing a coalition of civil society organizations, and strengthening the good governance of transboundary natural resources in order to improve food security and sustainable livelihoods fishery management in Lake Tanganyika. This project also seeks to put in place a trans-boundary oil governance observatory across the African Great lakes including local communities and environmental NGOs.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014) predicts by the end of this century ~1 4 degrees_C warming and an uncertain trend in future rainfall in the Great Lakes region of East Africa, perhaps 10% lower than present in the Malawi/Nyassa basin and 10% higher in the lake basins to the north. Radar altimetry records of lake level trends available since 1992 display decadal scale variability of 1-2 m, with an overall trend in the last decade towards lower levels in Lakes Malawi/Nyassa and Rukwa, and higher levels in the lakes to the north of Rukwa.
This project aimed to inform and strengthen the capacity of key stakeholders, especially civic society organizations (CSOs) on standard environmental conventions, GEF/small grant functioning, writting proposals, and project management. This project also trained CSOs on how to partner with local communities at the site of two landscapes (Mugere-Nyamusenyi and Cohoha-Rweru), and set up the framework for dialogue between the Ministry of Water, Environment, Land Management and Urban Planning (MEEATU) and civil society organizisation for improving coordination and avoid duplication.
The United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development accepts the formidable challenge of integrating historically siloed, economic, social, and environmental goals into a unified plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity. While small-scale fisheries in marine systems were given their target as part of SDG14: Life below water, at first sight the SDGs appear to ignore inland fisheries.
Malagarasi-Muyovozi Ramsar Site is the largest wetland ecosystem in Tanzania. Since its establishment in 2000, there have been several studies on the biodiversity of the area. Some of these studies have noted a high deforestation rate and overdependence on wetland resources. Unfortunately, findings and recommendations of previous studies have not been shared with the communities.
The World Wildlife Fund's Professional Development Grants (PDGs) provide support for mid-career conservationists to pursue short-term, non-degree training to upgrade their knowledge and skills. These trainings can include short courses, certificate trainings or conferences among other training opportunities.
Conservation Workshop Grants fund organizations to train communities, stakeholders, park guards, and others on local and regional conservation issues. These grants support training workshops with a strong hands-on learning component that will build capacity for people living in WWF priority regions in select countries. Please note that within eligible countries, preference is given to applicants working in WWF priority regions.
The Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a UK registered charity offering ongoing support to outstanding nature conservationists around the developing world. They aim to:
Population, Health, and the Environment (PHE) is a community-based development model that uses integrated approaches to improve access to health services, especially family planning and reproductive health, while helping communities manage natural resources and conserve the critical ecosystems on which they depend. PHE is a last mile approach that reaches vulnerable populations in rural areas that are typically beyond the reach of government services and large-scale development projects. For over two decades, diverse organizations around the world have carried out PHE projects.
Poor people depend on the environment for their livelihoods and well-being. Improved management of the environment and natural resources contributes directly to poverty reduction, more sustainable livelihoods and pro-poor growth. To fight poverty, promote security and preserve the ecosystems that poor people rely on for their livelihoods, pro-poor economic growth and environmental sustainability must be integrated into economic policies, planning systems and institutions.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) provides financial and technical support to projects that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people's well-being and livelihoods.The programme is rooted in the belief that global environmental problems can best be addressed if local people are involved and there are direct community benefits and ownership.
The principle objectives of SGP are to:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created the Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Fund (CEACF) to provide funding for projects that work to protect critically endangered species in Africa, Asia, South America and Oceania.
The Tropical Biology Association supports conservation projects that strengthen the proficiency of their alumni and alumni groups in natural resource management and research. The projects must be designed to solve a specific conservation or research problem in Africa and show impact.
Three types of grants are offered each year:
The Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA) has been developed through a collaboration of institutions with input generously provided by scientists and practitioners from multiple disciplines. The toolkit provides accessible guidance on low-cost methods for how to evaluate the benefits people receive from nature at particular sites in order to generate information that can be used to influence decision making.
Well-dated sediment cores from Lake Tanganyika provide records of environmental change over timescales of centuries to millennia, giving us insights about how this complex ecosystem has responded to processes such as climate change (both before and after the onset of the industrial revolution) and watershed deforestation. They extend our knowledge of changes into the pre-observational era and the period prior to intensive land use, large-scale fishing and anthropogenic warming.
Indicator 6.6.1 tracks changes over time in the extent of water-related ecosystems. It uses the imminent date of 2020 in order to align with the Aichi Targets of the Convention of Biodiversity, but will continue beyond that date to align with the rest of the SDG Targets set at 2030. Whereas all ecosystems depend on water, some ecosystems play a more prominent role in the provision of water-related services to society. Consequently, one of the focuses for global monitoring of this indicator is lakes.
The price of land on the global market is often far below its real value to society. Thsi means that too much has been and is being extracted from the land, degrading it to a dangerous extent. Worldwide, 52 percent of land used for agriculture is moderately or severely affected by land and soil degradation, a widespread phenomenon occurring globally. Recent estimates show that ecosystem service losses from land degradation cost $6.3 to 10.6 trillion annually. Everyone on earth suffers indirectly, and for the 1.4 billion rural poor land degradation has a direct impact on livelihoods.
There has been a considerable increase in the pace at which hydrocarbon reserves are being targeted in some of the most remote and pristine areas on our planet, often involving the use of controversial technologies such as hydraulic fracturing or deepwater drilling. Unnoticed by the public, initiatives for oil exploration are advanced in Africas largest freshwater reservoirs, including Lakes Tanganyika, Malawi and lately Albert, threatening their ecosystems and biota.