The Latawama project team and Tanganyika Lake Authority led a scoping mission in Zambia for the Lake Tanganyika Water Management Project (LATAWAMA) implemented by Enabel with funding from the European Union. The mission ran from December 05-19, 2020. Exchanges with the Northern Province authorities in Kasama and the Mpulungu District and field visits were organised, an opportunity to focus on the actions to be implemented.
During the working sessions with the provincial and municipal authorities, the Intervention Manager Didier Cadelli and the LTA’s Director of Environment, Gabriel Hakizimana recalled the importance of consultation, before the deployment of activities to meet local needs and emergencies.
The local administrative authorities expressed their interest in a set of actions to be financed by the project in terms of solid waste management for the direct benefit of citizens through technical support, institutional and organisational services of Mpulungu and the hospital sector.
In addition to the working sessions, the team visited several places in the city and along the Lake’s shores to understand environmental and health issues better and guide actions. These include public infrastructure such as markets, hospitals and some health centres, as well as the Lake environment impacted by plastic pollution and threatened by rising water levels.
“A common understanding of the actions to be implemented as needed to achieve the project’s objectives,” Mr Chinakila, the Mpulungu District Commissioner, said in an interview with the team; a statement that augurs good collaboration on the implementation of the project’s actions.
Also, in collaboration with the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA, Kasama) and Lake Tanganyika Research Unit, the LATAWAMA project will strengthen Lake Tanganyika’s environmental monitoring capacity. The project will finance the rehabilitation, equipment and training of the Mpulungu laboratory to integrate it into the network of reference laboratories for monitoring the water quality of Lake Tanganyika.
All project activities will be supported by various information, communication and awareness campaigns.
This mission was made possible by the involvement and technical support of Richard Lungu, LTA’s focal point in Zambia, the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, Mabo Lwabany from Lake Tanganyika Research Unit and WARMA.