Migration and Conservation in the Lake Albert Ecosystem

This report examines the impact of migration, primarily from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on the Lake Albert ecosystem in Buliisa District, Uganda. It highlights how the influx of low-cost migrant labor and increased market demand have led to severe overfishing, the degradation of aquatic biodiversity, and the failure of local fisheries co-management structures.

• Migration from the DRC is a primary driver of the deterioration of the Lake Albert ecosystem in Buliisa District, as migrants are attracted by economic opportunities in the fishery and are willing to work for lower wages than local residents.
• The Lake Albert fishery is nearing collapse due to the combined effects of an increasing supply of labor and rising demand for fish, which has been facilitated by infrastructure investments related to oil and gas exploration.
• There has been a drastic shift in fish species composition over the last two decades; while tigerfish, Nile perch, and tilapiine cichlids once dominated, over 90 percent of current catches consist of much smaller species, such as mukene.
• Beach Management Units (BMUs), intended as community fisheries management institutions, are largely ineffective in Buliisa District due to political opacity, corruption, and ethnic exclusion, with leadership tightly controlled by native Bagungu men.
• The report identifies a 'Malthusian overfishing' scenario in Buliisa District, where poor fishers lacking alternative employment respond to declining catches by increasing fishing effort and using illegal gear to maintain income.
• The Alur are the dominant migrant ethnic group in Buliisa District, estimated to make up nearly half of the population, with many settling on government land within 200 metres of the lakeshore.
• Oil and gas exploration and future extraction pose significant risks to the ecosystem, including potential oil spills and contamination of the floodplains of inflowing rivers, which are vital storage zones for runoff.
• Budongo Forest Reserve, the largest mahogany forest in East Africa, is threatened by illegal logging and human encroachment, which risks the loss of timber, wildlife, and the area's role as a key water catchment.
• The report proposes four intervention strategies: curbing the expansion of migrant settlements, enhancing district-level fishery regulations, promoting livelihood diversification (such as fish farming), and improving the protection of fish breeding grounds.

APA

D’Udine, F., Kyasiimire, B., Hammill, A., & Crawford, A. (2015). Migration and Conservation in the Lake Albert Ecosystem. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-lake-albert-ecosystem-report.pdf

Chicago

D’Udine, Floris, Beatrice Kyasiimire, Anne Hammill, and Alec Crawford. Migration and Conservation in the Lake Albert Ecosystem. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2015. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-lake-albert-ecosystem-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=D’Udine |first1=Floris |last2=Kyasiimire |first2=Beatrice |last3=Hammill |first3=Anne |last4=Crawford |first4=Alec |title=Migration and Conservation in the Lake Albert Ecosystem |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=August 2015 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-lake-albert-ecosystem-report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dudine2015migration, author = {D’Udine, Floris and Kyasiimire, Beatrice and Hammill, Anne and Crawford, Alec}, title = {{Migration and Conservation in the Lake Albert Ecosystem}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-lake-albert-ecosystem-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }