Tuungane Project Baseline Ecological Study: An Assessment of the Near-shore Biodiversity of Lake Tanganyika in Mahale Mountains National Park and Surrounding Villages

The Tuungane Project is a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy, Frankfurt Zoological Society, and Pathfinder International that seeks to address the most significant health and environmental issues within the Greater Mahale Ecosystem in Western Tanzania. The Tuungane Project’s current and planned freshwater resource conservation interventions include, but are not limited to, support for development of fisheries co-management institutions (Beach Management Units, or BMUs), protection of fish breeding sites and the existing Mahale freshwater protected area, micro-credit loans to BMU members, reduction of sedimentation through agricultural land use management interventions, education, and capacity-building. This ecological survey focused on the freshwater component of the Lake Tanganyika Ecosystem. The diverse and fascinating animal life of Lake Tanganyika is a rich biological treasure of global significance.