543
Charcoal is also a major source of livelihoods for rural households in areas
with access to urban markets. More than 96% of Rwandans depend on wood for
domestic energy, and 81% of the country’s energy consumption is from wood
(LVBC 2007).
Throughout the region, wood is increasingly scarce and requires more time and
effort to collect. In Kenya and Tanzania, people have to go longer distances to obtain
firewood, requiring the use of lower-quality biomass fuels. Urbanization has dramatically increased the consumption of charcoal in cities, and as the population
increases, fuelwood utilization is expected to increase, further constraining
fuel supply.
Deforestation in the region can also be attributed to clearing land for agriculture.
Most of the population of the countries in the Basin is engaged in smallholder agriculture for their livelihoods, and food insecurity and malnutrition remain persistent
challenges.
Since subsistence crop production dominates the agricultural economy, the main
driver of food insecurity and malnutrition is the limited ability to grow enough food
to feed the growing population. Ninety percent of the population of Rwanda is
engaged in subsistence farming, and they are not able to grow sufficient amounts of
food (LVBC 2007).
In Uganda, the food system is characterized by declining per capita production,
soil degradation from unsustainable agricultural practices, and highly variable rainfall. Low agricultural productivity in the region is caused in part by a loss of soil
fertility, lack of water for irrigation, and a lack of access to agricultural inputs such
as fertilizer and seeds.
Overfishing and declining fish catch is driven in part by the other two challenges,
which demonstrates a kind of causal feedback loop, where deforestation, pollution,
and eutrophication are contributing to a decline in fish populations, and the dependence on fisheries for food security, livelihoods, and household income by a growing human population puts additional pressure on a declining resource. Increasing
fishing pressure is a consequence of population growth, increasing demand for fish
for consumption as food, and a growing commercial fishing sector. An audit by the
government of Tanzania found that between 2009 and 2011, yields of Nile perch on
Lake Victoria fell about 5% (URT 2013).
Lake Victoria is Africa’s most important source of inland fishery production,
mainly due to the introduction of Nile perch, which transformed Lake Victoria from
a primarily artisanal fishery that supported subsistence consumption to a multimillion dollar commercial fishery in just over a decade. Annual fish catch in Lake
Victoria increased from approximately 30,000 metric tons in the late 1970s and
peaked at 560,000 metric tons in the early 1990s (Njiru et al. 2008). Annual catch
has since declined to approximately 500,000 metric tons, and the declining catch
has been attributed in part to overfishing.
Both Nile perch and Nile tilapia were introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950s
in order to boost the fishing industry, but it also contributed to the loss of many
endemic fish species, particularly cichlids (ILEC 2005; LVFO 2017). Approximately
75% of the Nile perch catch is exported, primarily to Europe and the USA, which
19 Watersheds at the Nexus
Charcoal is also a major source of livelihoods for rural households in areas
with access to urban markets. More than 96% of Rwandans depend on wood for
domestic energy, and 81% of the country’s energy consumption is from wood
(LVBC 2007).
Throughout the region, wood is increasingly scarce and requires more time and
effort to collect. In Kenya and Tanzania, people have to go longer distances to obtain
firewood, requiring the use of lower-quality biomass fuels. Urbanization has dramatically increased the consumption of charcoal in cities, and as the population
increases, fuelwood utilization is expected to increase, further constraining
fuel supply.
Deforestation in the region can also be attributed to clearing land for agriculture.
Most of the population of the countries in the Basin is engaged in smallholder agriculture for their livelihoods, and food insecurity and malnutrition remain persistent
challenges.
Since subsistence crop production dominates the agricultural economy, the main
driver of food insecurity and malnutrition is the limited ability to grow enough food
to feed the growing population. Ninety percent of the population of Rwanda is
engaged in subsistence farming, and they are not able to grow sufficient amounts of
food (LVBC 2007).
In Uganda, the food system is characterized by declining per capita production,
soil degradation from unsustainable agricultural practices, and highly variable rainfall. Low agricultural productivity in the region is caused in part by a loss of soil
fertility, lack of water for irrigation, and a lack of access to agricultural inputs such
as fertilizer and seeds.
Overfishing and declining fish catch is driven in part by the other two challenges,
which demonstrates a kind of causal feedback loop, where deforestation, pollution,
and eutrophication are contributing to a decline in fish populations, and the dependence on fisheries for food security, livelihoods, and household income by a growing human population puts additional pressure on a declining resource. Increasing
fishing pressure is a consequence of population growth, increasing demand for fish
for consumption as food, and a growing commercial fishing sector. An audit by the
government of Tanzania found that between 2009 and 2011, yields of Nile perch on
Lake Victoria fell about 5% (URT 2013).
Lake Victoria is Africa’s most important source of inland fishery production,
mainly due to the introduction of Nile perch, which transformed Lake Victoria from
a primarily artisanal fishery that supported subsistence consumption to a multimillion dollar commercial fishery in just over a decade. Annual fish catch in Lake
Victoria increased from approximately 30,000 metric tons in the late 1970s and
peaked at 560,000 metric tons in the early 1990s (Njiru et al. 2008). Annual catch
has since declined to approximately 500,000 metric tons, and the declining catch
has been attributed in part to overfishing.
Both Nile perch and Nile tilapia were introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950s
in order to boost the fishing industry, but it also contributed to the loss of many
endemic fish species, particularly cichlids (ILEC 2005; LVFO 2017). Approximately
75% of the Nile perch catch is exported, primarily to Europe and the USA, which
19 Watersheds at the Nexus