Restoring the Lake Edward Fishery in Virunga National Park

This case study describes the application of a conflict-sensitive conservation (CSC) approach to restore the Lake Edward fishery within Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It details how institutional decline and environmental degradation caused by decades of violent conflict were addressed through multistakeholder monitoring committees, joint patrols, and transboundary dialogue to improve fish yields and regional peacebuilding.

• By the mid-2000s, the Lake Edward fishery and its ecosystem suffered from severe degradation due to chronic instability and conflict between national armed forces and rebel groups. This environment led to the over-exploitation of the fishery, an increase in settlements around the lake, rising transboundary incursions from Uganda, and poaching that nearly eliminated the local hippopotamus population.
• In 2006, a process to reverse institutional decline and environmental degradation began through a partnership involving the Wildlife Conservation Society, USAID, and technical support from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). This effort utilized a conflict-sensitive conservation (CSC) approach to identify and resolve conflicts regarding the management of the Lake Edward fishery.
• The fishery was under significant pressure, supporting between 60,000 and 70,000 people, with half residing in illegal settlements. High demand for fish was driven by the population centers of Goma, Butembo, and Beni. Management challenges included illegal fishing practices, the presence of militias and the national army, weak governance, and illegal cross-border fishing by Congolese and Ugandan fishers.
• The CSC-based support program implemented several initiatives to restore the fishery, including awareness campaigns on sustainable methods and laws, a population census, political and military lobbying, and the use of mixed patrols consisting of the army, parks authority, and fisher cooperatives. These actions led to a decline in illegal fishing and an improvement in fish yields.
• The project contributed to peacebuilding by shifting stakeholders from conflict toward environmental cooperation. This was achieved through regional meetings involving governing institutions, community groups, and NGOs, as well as new dialogue channels for information sharing and joint management of the fishery.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Restoring the Lake Edward Fishery in Virunga National Park. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc-stories-virunga.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Restoring the Lake Edward Fishery in Virunga National Park. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc-stories-virunga.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Restoring the Lake Edward Fishery in Virunga National Park |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc-stories-virunga.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndrestoring, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Restoring the Lake Edward Fishery in Virunga National Park}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc-stories-virunga.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }