This conference focuses on the freshwater ecosystems and resources of the African Great Lakes. We welcome participants who wish to give presentations which fall under one or more of the following themes and sub-themes for this conference:
Blue Economy Great Lakes
• Identifying key SDGs, gaps and inclusive green targets for future development
• Development of the key lake sectors (oil, gas, transport, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, water and energy)
• Modelling consumption and market developments of lake products (water, fish, shrimp, vegetation, plankton, sand/gravel)
• Developing international and multinational agreements
• Moving closer to Circularity (value optimisation, re-use commodity and sustainability low energy-water- food nexus footprint).
Balance for policy, people, science, emerging issues
• Balanced management of the Great Lakes
• Restoring nature for improved livelihoods, biodiversity, jobs, economic activity and hope
• Improving of communities’ participation
• Development of food security policies
Lake-wide ecosystem services and biodiversity
• Cost and benefits of aquatic invasive species in the African Great Lakes
• Spatial planning and ecosystem services on the Great Lakes
• Pressing issues in ecosystem services
• Lacustrine protected areas for biodiversity conservation
Ecosystem changes: multiple stressors and climate change
• Changing food web dynamics and ecology
• Limnetic, littoral and benthic productivity and resilience
• Key drivers of ecosystem change
Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes
• The structure and function of algal blooms
Fisheries sustainability and emerging aquaculture
• Modelling of consumption/utilization of lake products (water, fish, shrimp, vegetation, sand, gravel, etc.) for a growing human population
• Emerging aquaculture in the Great Lakes with emphasis on cage culture
• Development of food and nutrition security policies for a growing population
• Evolution of private fish farms in the Great Lakes’ basins
• Restoring limnetic, littoral and the benthic habitats (Hippo grass beds and fish spawning grounds, etc.)
Wetland ecology, riverine and satellite lakes
• Rehabilitation and restoration of wetlands
Lacustrine and lake basin governance
• Is there a future for fisheries co-management for African Great Lakes?
• Socio-economic costs and benefits of present fisheries co-management regimes
• Role of states, communities, universities and private sector in lake management
• Is there a role for private sector in mitigating/solving (ecological) problems on the Great Lakes?
• Effective and sustained Stakeholder engagement
Knowledge management for Great Lakes
• Application of technology to monitor human impact on the Great Lakes
• Training and development of “lake extension champions”
• Developing Key performance ecosystem-based indicators for water quality and remedial actions
• Monitoring of social, economic and ecological system status and trends
• Applicability of cost-efficient technology and approaches in data poor regions (tools, data storage, sharing, info management)
Private sector involvement in Lake Basin management
• Coupling societal and corporate demand to applicable knowledge
• Building with Nature concepts and frugal innovation