The Second International Symposium on the East African Lakes was held from 10-15 January 2000 at Club Makokola on the southern shore of Lake Malawi. The symposium was organized by the International Decade for the East African Lakes (IDEAL), a research consortium of African, European and North American scientists interested in promoting the investigations of African Great Lakes as archives of environmental and climatic dynamics. Over one hundred African, European and North American scientists with special expertise in the tropical lakes participated in the symposium which featured compelling presentations on the limnology, climatology, palaeoclimatology and biodiversity of the East African Lakes. It is their papers that comprise this book. The large lakes of East Africa are important natural resources that are heavily utilized by their bordering countries for transportation, water supply, fisheries, waste disposal, recreation and tourism. The lakes are unique in many ways: they are sensitive to climatic change and their circulation dynamics, water-column chemistry and biological complexity differ significantly from large lakes at higher latitudes; they have long, continuous, high resolution records of past climatic change; and they have rich and diverse populations of endemic organisms. These unique properties and the significance of the palaeolimnological records demand and attract research interest from around the world.

The African lakes are an extremely important ecosystem and the subject of much study relating to species introductions and loss of biodiversity. This book provides a thorough review of the whole subject and will be of great interest to fish biologists, fisheries workers, ecologists, environmental scientists and conservationists.

This is a story of fish and fishing in Lake Victoria, one of Africa's Great lakes. In the early 1990s, Uganda started industrial fish processing in response to the lucrative markets overseas. This has led to a situation whereby larger-scale industrial fisheries have been systematically favored in the belief that the benefits derived from the newer fisheries would flow through the economy to the original participants. The customary system, rules and regulations are being replaced through the promotion of conventional science, foreign technology and centralization of power. The question of whether the economic importance of fisheries for local populations/households (that originally survived on the lake's resources) has been tackled is what the study follows. It will further focus on how local fishers employ LEK to sustain their meager economy amidst the interference of state agencies and external actors. It explores how local fishers are coping with the new natural resource management policies and whether Lake Victoria is heading for an environmental catastrophe.

The Victoria, Tanganyika and Malawi lakes serve as renewable sources of freshwater and fish, besides fulfilling other important functions in their riparian countries. Their ecosystems are in danger, however. Research on the lakes' ecosystems and their main environment problems is a prerequisite to the formulation of strategies and action plans for integrated environmental management of the lakes' basins. This volume presents data collected and the main results of hydrological studies.

Small pelagic fish species found in lakes and introduced to reservoirs dominate by volume and contribute some of the most important inland fisheries in Africa with steadily increasing catches and additional potential. This circular reviews the status and importance of the pelagic fish and fisheries, together with small fish in general, for sustainable and healthy livelihoods in Africa. It reviews the biology and biological production of the most important pelagic species in lakes and reservoirs as well as the impacts of environmental and climatic variation on the stocks of these species. It examines and discuss the various capture techniques together with potential of improvements in the fisheries and associated processing and national and regional trade within Africa. The knowledge generated by the circular will be useful for policy makers and development practitioners to design and implement more effective policies, strategies and programs that will contribute to reducing the food insecurity and conflicts that currently affect the people in sub-Saharan Africa.

Based on modern limnology and environmental research, syntheses of the composition, functions and production of pelagic ecosystems are being provided in the Great Lakes of Africa. Special attention is given to Lake Tanganyika and recent research activities. New findings on relationships between lake hydrophysics, climatic patterns and biological productivity are presented. The roles of organic matters and microbes are discussed. The implications of environmental and fishery research on regional fisheries management are presented, together with the outcomes of the recent major research projects in lakes Tanganyika and Malawi, particularly in practical fisheries development.