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The Project Among the principal objectives of the project is the establishment of a sustainable regional management plan for pollution control, conservation and maintenance of biodiversity in Lake Tanganyika. This will be founded upon the results of a series of multi-disciplinary studies aimed at improving understanding of the complex scientific, technical, legal and socio-economic issues related to conservation of the lake and its immediate environment. These are divided into five nominal thrusts, which overlap as much as the realities of the situation they confront. These are biodiversity, to find out exactly what species and combinations of species and habitats are under particular threat; pollution, to identify the sources, evaluate the consequences and find preventative measures; sedimentation, to monitor the movement and impact of soil entering the Lake; socio-economics and environmental education, two interlinked programmes intended to raise awareness of critical environmental issues among user groups, and facilitate translating the scientific studies into locally acceptable practices and policies in which local people are able to play a much greater part in conservation and development. Incorporated under these headings are studies on fishing and agricultural practices, merits of sites for underwater national parks, the relevance of the legal systems of land ownership, lake conservation and developmental needs considering all the problems associated with the huge distances and poor communications involved. With coordination from the project head office in Dar es Salaam, the work is carried out by teams of specialists seconded from government departments, universities, research institutions and NGOs. These individuals work hand in hand with international experts in the respective fields and, of course, with members of communities whose livelihoods depend upon the lake. Towards the end of the project's life it is expected that institutions within the region will have developed the capacity to continue the monitoring and advisory work necessary to ensure long-term environmental management of the lake region. The strong commitment of the four riparian governments (Burundi, RD Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia) is already assured. These nations understandably realise fully the enormity and importance of the task that lies ahead as well as the ultimate need for consideration of laws relating to the utilisation of the lake. Now it is the task of the project to engender similar attitudes in the diverse catchment population groups and to put in place the structures which will enable them to manage their own future effectively. The project spans five years from 1995 to 2000 and is funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) through UNDP. It is being implemented through the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) by Natural Resources Institute (NRI) in collaboration with two other British research organisations, Marine Resources Assessment Group Ltd (MRAG) and the Institute of Freshwater Ecology (IFE).
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