Pact Malawi has been awarded a grant of $12 million to implement a project called ‘Restoring Fisheries and Sustainable Livelihoods in Lake Malawi’ (REFRESH) by USAID to be implemented from 2019 to 2024.
Speaking during a startup workshop for the project on Monday, Chief of Party for PACT Malawi, Alan Brooks said the purpose of the REFRESH project is to conserve the freshwater biodiversity of Lake Malawi.
He said the project aims to achieve its goals by restoring the natural fisheries productivity in the lakeshore districts of Karonga, Rumphi, Likoma, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Salima, Dedza and Mangochi.
Brooks said they want to ensure that Lake Malawi’s aquatic habitats are healthy and well-managed. “We want to ensure that the endemic fish populations of targeted parts of Lake Malawi are healthy and self-sustaining; and fisheries in the targeted parts of Lake Malawi are managed sustainably by 2024,” he said
“We will build the capacity of fishermen so that they manage their demarcated area of water, through technical expertise, closed seasons and other control measures,” he said.
He said through the project, they would like to make lasting change for the next generation, through equipping communities with skills, resources and opportunities they need to responsibly benefit from the natural resources around them.
Environmental Team Leader from USAID, Keith Mertzner said the startup workshop was aimed at brainstorming new approaches to successfully overcome the threats to freshwater biodiversity and ecosystems in the lake Malawi.
2019 AllAfrica