FAO supports drafting of the blue economy strategy for Lake Kariba

Lake Kariba plays a significant role in local and national economies of the two riparian countries, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Fisheries, tourism and energy are important contributors to the Blue Economy. Lake Kariba is also the largest aquaculture production hub in Africa.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with SADC and financial support from the African Development Bank are supporting drafting of the blue economy strategy and investment plan for Lake Kariba. 

“The Blue Economy strategy for Lake Kariba is a first initiative of a Joint Blue Economy strategy specific to an inland water body. It aims to improve the Governance system for lake’s resources management between Zimbabwe and Zambia and to support actions towards better resilience of the lake communities, ecosystems and resources against climate change,” said Patrice Talla, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa and Representative to Zimbabwe.

This is an initiative implemented under the PROFISHBLUE programme implemented in the SADC region with the overall objective to promote sustainable management of fisheries resources within the Blue Economy context to improve food security and nutrition, create employment through value chain activities, facilitate intra-regional trade, and build adaptive capacity.

“Some of the resources in the lake such as kapenta do not recognize borders; it is a shared resource that requires our collective stewardship as Zimbabwe and Zambia. Through this strategy, we aim to foster dialogue, exchange ideas, and harness our collective expertise to create a blueprint that maximizes the potential of our Lake while safeguarding it for future generations,” said Irene Chihanga, Aquaculture Production Specialist in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development in Zimbabwe.

In 2023, FAO and the SADC Secretariat signed a Memorandum of Agreement to implement two components of the PROFISHBLUE programme, that is, a Joint fisheries assessment in Lake Tanganyika, and the Blue Economy strategy and investment plan for Lake Kariba. 

“The Blue Economy strategy and its investment plan is a way to pave the future of Lake Kariba. It will contribute to address the challenges, improve the existing and bring innovations, particularly in the way resources are managed, common problems are shared and solved, and the impact of climate change is tackled. It is a framework that brings together public and private stakeholders to develop sectorial and inter-sectorial activities that will contribute to improve the management of resources, the health of the lake ecosystem and community livelihoods,” said Pierre Failler, Lead Expert in Blue Economy for the project.

The Blue Economy strategy is developed through a participatory approach involving key actors, riparian communities including women and youth guided also by the under arching approaches of FAO’s Blue Transformation emphasizing sustainability, economic growth, and the preservation of aquatic ecosystems for the benefit of future generations.

Under the PROFISHBLUE, the process of developing the Blue Economy strategy and investment plan in Lake Kariba started in July 2024 with the inception workshop. This was followed with a scoping mission conducted between the two countries with the assistance of FAO in the five districts of the lake. The mission results informed the Blue Economy priorities challenges, needs and investment opportunities. The workshop of the preparatory phase was held in October 2024 to discuss results from the scoping mission and highlight the common priorities for the two countries which can be considered for the strategy.  

Between November 2024 to February 2025 a team of experts in Blue Economy strategy and Blue Economy investment worked on the desk review, analysis of the results from the scoping mission, and further consultation to confirm, complement the information and highlight the potential interventions. The team prepared the first draft of the Blue Economy strategy with a proposal of priority areas, programmes and actions.

During this workshop, the technical committee for the Blue Economy strategy, reviewed and contextualised all interventions and provided concrete recommendations on the four proposed priority areas: 1) Lake Kariba governance; 2) Resilience and innovative solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss; 3) Fisheries and Aquaculture co-viability and 4) Transversal supporting activities. The technical group assigned to the drafting process finalised the Blue Economy strategy and prepared the first draft of the investment plan.

Going forward, the Blue Economy strategy and investment plan will be updated to reflect the results from the workshop and the documents will be shared with the larger group of the Blue Economy stakeholders.

The PROFISHBLUE programme is funded by the African Development Bank to the tune of close to USD 1 million for the two components implemented by FAO and close to USD 9 million for the whole programme implemented in the 16 SADC countries.