Management of bushland vegetation using rainwater harvesting in eastern Kenya.

Microcatchment water harvesting (MCWH) improved the survival and growth of planted trees on heavy soils in eastern Kenya five to six years after planting. In the best method, the cross-tied furrow microcatchments, the mean annual increments (MAI; based on the average biomass of living trees multiplied by tree density and survival) of the total and usable biomass in Prosopis juliflora were 2787 and 1610 kg ha-1 a-1 respectively, when the initial tree density was 500 to 1667 trees per hectare. Based on survival, the indigenous Acacia horrida, A. mellifera and A. zanzibarica were the most suitable species for planting using MCWH. When both survival and yield were considered, a local seed source of the introduced P. juliflora was superior to all other species. The MAI in MCWH was at best distinctly higher than that in the natural vegetation (163­307 and 66­111 kg ha-1 a-1 for total and usable biomass respectively); this cannot satisfy the fuelwood demand of concentrated populations, such as towns or irrigation schemes. The density of seeds of woody species in the topsoil was 40.1 seeds m-2 in the Acacia-Commiphora bushland and 12.6 seeds m-2 in the zone between the bushland and the Tana riverine forest. Rehabilitation of woody vegetation using the soil seed bank alone proved difficult due to the lack of seeds of desirable species. The regeneration and dynamics of woody vegetation were also studied both in cleared and undisturbed bushland. A sub-type of Acacia-Commiphora bushland was identified as Acacia reficiens bushland, in which the dominant Commiphora species is C. campestris. Most of the woody species did not have even-aged populations but cohort structures that were skewed towards young individuals. The woody vegetation and the status of soil nutrients were estimated to recover in 15­20 years on Vertic Natrargid soils after total removal of above-ground vegetation.

Vegetation response to cattail management at Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas

Dense, monospecific cattail (Typha spp.) stands are a problem in many prairie wetlands because they alter habitat structure and function, resulting in a decrease in use by wildlife species. Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area, a Wetland of International Importance in central Kansas, has experienced a large increase in cattails and a subsequent decrease in migratory wetland bird use. As a consequence, intensive cattail management is practiced. We assessed the effectiveness of prescribed burning, discing following prescribed burning, and cattle grazing following prescribed burning at two stocking rates of 5 and 20 head per 11 ha in suppressing cattail, as well as the effects of these treatments on non-cattail vegetation.

Fisheries management in the social domain: perspectives from Tanzania's Lake Victoria fishery

For a long time, the Tanzanian Fisheries Department has managed Tanzanian fisheries without incorporating other stakeholders within its management framework. On lake Victoria, the persistent use of illegal fishing gear and declining catches have led the government to realize that this system of fisheries management may no longer be viable, and have sought to incorporate fishing communities into the management structure. Through the creation of beach management units (BMUs), the Fisheries Departments have sought to persuade fishing communities to implement and enforce Tanzania's fishing regulations and to monitor the fishery. In this paper we explore a recently gathered data set that yields information on, amongst others, how Tanzanian fishing communities perceive the state of their resource base, how they view their relationship with the Fisheries Department, the efficacy of fishing regulations and other variables. We draw on a series of criteria developed by Ostron (1990) for institutional 'robustness' to explore various areas of institutional development on Lake Victoria, and to try and anticipate how the BMUs will fare. We argue there are many socio-political and economic factors that will determine how communities will receive and perceive their responsibilities towards government-imposed administrative structures at the local level, these will become 'socialized' such that they will vary from place to place. While this may bode well for problems of heterogeneity, it does not necessarily mean that fisheries management objective on Lake Victoria will be met

Ownership and co-management: towards the integrated management of Lake Victoria

The management of Lake Victoria is a high priority to the riparian countries that benefit directly from its resources. Management regulations have been formulated and implemented with the aim of maintaining the lake's ecological quality as well as sustaining fisheries exploitation for economic gain. Results indicate, however, that the regulations have not been successful in maintaining the state of the lake's ecosystem nor the fisheries. There has been a continuing decline in fish catches as well as declining biodiversity. Currently, the riparian countries are considering the introduction of a co-management regime as an alternative managerial strategy to address the lake's problems. In this paper it is argued that the failure of the former management regulations was because ownership of the lake was not clearly defined. It is further argued that even if co-management were to be successfully instituted, it will yield very minimal results if the problem of ownership is not properly addressed. This paper explores the ownership status of the lake based on data collected in Tanzania, and examines the relationship between, and significance of, ownership and co-management. The research makes recommendations for how these concepts can contribute to an integrated management of the lake

An assessment of co-management potentials in the Lake Victoria fisheries of Kenya

Co-management is a system or a process in which responsibility and authority for the management of common resources is shared between the state, local users of the resources as well as other stakeholders, and where they have the legal authority to administer the resource jointly. Co-management has received increasing attention in recent years as a potential strategy for managing fisheries. This paper presents and discusses results of a survey undertaken in the Kenyan part of Lake Victoria to assess the conditions - behaviour, attitude and characteristics of resource users, as well as community institutions - that can support co-management. It analyses the results of this survey with respect to a series of parameters, identified by Pinkerton (1989), as necessary preconditions for the successful inclusion of communities involvement in resource management. The survey was implemented through a two-stage stratified random sampling technique based on district and beach size strata. A total of 405 fishers, drawn from 25 fish landing beaches, were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The paper concludes that while Kenya's lake Victoria fishery would appear to qualify for a number of these preconditions, it would appear that it fails to qualify in others. Preconditions in this latter category include the definition of boundaries in fishing grounds, community members' rights to the resource, delegation and legislation of local responsibility and authority. Additional work is required to further elaborate and understand these shortcomings

Methodology of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Research Project's Co-management survey

In this book section, the theoretical background to the methodology is outlined, questionnaire development described, sample selection outlined and biases and shortcomings to the survey noted.

Synthesising co-management for Lake Victoria: discussions on models relating to concepts of sustainability and participative management

This book section aims to synthesise the results of the surveys related to the LVFRP by developing different strategies to implement a sustainable and participative co-management model.

Lake Victoria Fisheries Management Plan

The purpose of this Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) within the Lake Victoria Fisheries Research Project was to sustain the livelihoods of the communities who depend on the fishery resources of the lake and to reduce poverty, food insecurity and unemployment. To achieve this goals, a better management of the resources, which would mobilize and include stakeholders at local, regional, national and international level was believed to be the right strategy for success. (PDF contains 79 pages)

An alternative management strategy for Lake Victoria (Kenya)

In Kenya, fisheries resource management has been based on the top-down centralized approach since the colonial days. Stakeholders have never been consulted concerning management decisions. The 4-beaches Study was undertaken to investigate the potential for an alternative management system for Lake Victoria.

The regulators and the regulated: fisheries management, options and dynamics in Kenya's Lake Victoria fishery

The study divides the history of the fishery into five 'regulatory periods': the pre-colonial fishery (pre-1901), the colonial fishery (1901-1963), the post indipendence fishery (1963-1980), the Nile perch 'boom' years (1980-1989), and finally the fishery in the 1990's. Within each of these periods, the nature of and the relationship between, formal and informal regulations differs and changes with time. In the pre-colonial period, the outcome of formal and informal regulations largely sustained the fishery in a productive and species diverse state. However, at no time since then have formal regulations worked, with the result that the nature of production from the fishery changes over time and is dependent on a number of factors, amongst which the most important are effort level increases, technological introductions, species introductions, changes in regional and national job markets, the change from community-based controls to state-based controls within the fishery, and finally, considerable changes to the fish markets.

Technical guidelines for management of fisheries resources, biodiversity and environment of Victoria basin lakes

Lake victoria is the second largest lake in the world.the lake is shatred between three East African countries (Kenya,Uganda and Tanzania) the lake basin is estimatedto have about 30 million people who depend on it as a source of fish for food,employment,income and recreation.the lake is transport locally and regionally is used for recreation and is recongnised internationally for its high fish species diversity of ecological and scientific value. This document in the first in a series to be produced on different fish production systems in Uganda and should stimulate discussions and comments to guide application of scientific findings into the policy environment.

Migration of fishermen and its impacts on fisheries management on Lake Victoria, Uganda

The purpose of the study was to investigate migratory movements of fishermen on lake victoria.To identify the cuases of fishrmen migration with a view to establishing the paterns of migration;determining season of migration and assessing the impacts of migration on fisheries management and development.

Management of the nile perch, Lates niloticus, fishery in Lake Victoria in light of the changes in its life history characteristics

Nile perch, Lates niloticus Linnaeus, 1758, is a predatory fish of high commercial and recreational value. It can grow to a length of 2 m and a weight of 200 kg. In Uganda, Nile perch was originally found only in Lake Albert and the River Nile below Murchison Falls. The species is, however, widely distributed in Africa, occurring in the Nile system below Murchison Falls, the Congo, Niger, Volta, Senegal and in Lakes Chad and Turkana (Greenwood 1966).

Priorities for research and management on Lake Victoria

Under the worrisomely changing situation in fish species diversity, water environment characteristics, socio-economic dimensions and other ecosystems variables in Lake Victoria, there is an urgent need to put in place effective research and management packages aimed at safe guarding the sustainability of the vast resources of the lake. Priority in have been out-lined to develop strategies which would promote biological productivity and diversity, and socio-economic returns. But given the size of the lake (69,000 km2) and the complexity of dynamic forces which are driving the changes, coordinated approach for research and management among the riparian states and the international scientific community will be required. The task is not only extensive but urgent as well.

Management of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, in Lake Victoria Basin

Water hyacinth is a free-floating waterweed native to the Amazon River Basin in South America. In its native range, water hyacinth is not an environmental problem, although the weed is one of the most invasive alien plants in freshwater environments. Water hyacinth has the potential to become invasive through fast vegetative reproduction and rapid growth to accumulate huge biomass and extensive cover in freshwater environments. Over the last 150 years water hyacinth has invaded most countries in the tropics and sub-tropics, introduced by man, mainly for ornamental purposes. Such introductions led to the infestation of most freshwater-ways in the southern United States of America, parts of Australia, the pacific islands, and most countries in Asia and Africa. The extensive tightly packed mats of water hyacinth are often associated with devastating socio-economic and environmental impacts. Invasion by the weed has, therefore, often generated urgent costly problems associated with the weed biomass and its management. A classic example of such problems was triggered by the invasion and proliferation of water hyacinth in the Lake Victoria Basin during the 1980s (Freilink 1989, Taylor 1993, Twongo et al., 1995). The weed infestation marked the beginning of a decade of intensive and systematic campaign by the three riparian states (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) to bring weed proliferation under control. The discussions in this Chapter span over ten years of dealing with the challenges paused by the imperative to manage infestations of water hyacinth in the Lake Victoria Basin. The challenges included the need to understand the dynamics of water hyacinth infestation; its distribution, proliferation and impact modalities; and the development and implementation of appropriate weed control strategies and options. Most specific examples were taken from the Ugandan experience (NARO, 2002).