Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika Latest News

Recently, the countries which border Lake Tanganyika Basin have launched a five-year project to assess and address transboundary threats to the biodiversity of this lake basin.

About Lake Tanganyika 

• It is an ancient lake located in East Africa.
• Bordering Countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),Tanzania and Zambia.
• It is extremely long, deepest and is the longest lake in the world, measuring over 400 miles long.
• It occupies the southern end of the Western Rift Valley, and for most of its length the land rises steeply from its shores.
• It is situated on the line dividing the floral regions of eastern and western Africa, and oil palms, which are characteristic of the flora of western Africa, grow along the lake’s shores.
• The largest rivers discharging into the lake are the Malagarasi, the Ruzizi, and the Kalambo.
• Its outlet is the Lukuga River, which flows into the Lualaba River.
• Rice and subsistence crops are grown along the shores, and fishing is of some significance.

Recent Initiative to Protect Biodiversity of Lake Tanganyika

• It is the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)-led initiative and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
• It aims to enhance transboundary cooperation among the four countries bordering Lake Tanganyika.
• It will also promote sustainable fisheries, biodiversity conservation, and the restoration of degraded landscapes in the basin.
• The initiative will protect core conservation zones in three identified protected areas and promote sustainable natural resource use in protected areas and their buffer zones.

Lake Tanganyika FAQs

Q1. What is special about Lake Tanganyika?

Ans. It the deepest lake in Africa with a maximum depth of 1,470 m and average depth of 580 m, the second deepest lake in the world

Q2. Which four countries share Lake Tanganyika?

Ans. Tanganyika's waters lap Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. 

Source: UN