Migration and Conservation in the Lake Albert Ecosystem

The report examines how unregulated migration into Buliisa District has contributed to the deterioration of the Lake Albert fishery. It identifies a cycle where declining fish stocks lead boat owners to rely on low-cost migrant labour to maintain profit margins, which in turn sustains unsustainable levels of fishing effort. The document highlights the failure of Beach Management Units (BMUs) due to ethnic tensions and political corruption, and warns that the fishery is dangerously close to collapse. It recommends curbing migrant settlement expansion, enhancing district-level regulations, diversifying livelihoods through fish farming, and strengthening the protection of fish breeding grounds.

• Migration from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a primary driver of the deterioration of the Lake Albert ecosystem in Buliisa District, as migrants provide low-cost labour that sustains an overexploited fishery.
• The Lake Albert fishery is nearing collapse, characterized by a drastic shift in species composition where larger, commercially valuable fish like Nile perch are replaced by smaller species such as mukene.
• Beach Management Units (BMUs) in Buliisa District are largely ineffective due to a lack of transparency, political corruption, and ethnic exclusion, with leadership typically controlled by native Bagungu men who exclude the migrant Alur majority.
• A 'Malthusian overfishing' scenario is occurring in Buliisa, where poor fishers lacking alternative employment respond to declining catches by increasing fishing effort and using illegal gear to maintain income.
• The discovery and future extraction of oil and gas in the Albertine Graben pose significant risks to the ecosystem, including potential oil spills and increased demand for fish, while offering few employment opportunities for local residents due to low education levels.
• The report estimates that between 1991 and 2012, approximately 2,125 to 3,320 migrants found employment in Buliisa District fisheries, contributing to a total of at least 10,000 Congolese settlers in the district over two decades.
• Budongo Forest Reserve is threatened by illegal logging and human encroachment, and the loss of this forest would severely impact the water table and ecosystem functions across Buliisa District.

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} }