Workshop: Our future from wetlands – sustainable lifestyles – aound management of wetlands in the Virunga National Park
The Virunga National Park, located in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is Africa’s oldest park. The park is home to huge rivers that constitute park wetlands, most of which is Lake Edward. More than 50,000 families are directly dependent on the fishing on Lake Edward.
In recent decades, Lake Edward has been the subject of serious threats including:
- The pollution of its waters by SOMIKIVU with pyrochlore from Lueshe river that flows into the Rwindi river, which in turn empties into Lake Edward;
- The overexploitation of fish in the lake with the proliferation of fishing boats – currently estimated at 6,000 canoes as opposed to the normal threshold of 700 fishing canoes;
- fishing or even fishing in some fish breeding areas (spawning) where even human traffic is prohibited;
- the urgent threat of oil exploitation project in the basement of Lake Edward waters where the presence of an oil deposit has been identified as a result of seismic testing in 2014.
As a result of these threats, it has become essential to challenge young people, the leaders of the future, to get involved in the sustainable management of Lake Edward’s fisheries resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
Two awareness workshops for the young people living around Lake Edward were held on the sound management of wetlands in the Virunga National Park, Vitshumbi and Kyavinyonge, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Read more about the workshops here [pdf]