Business Times Africa Magazine 2017 /vol 9/ No2 BT2Edition2017_web | Page 62

AFRICA
Lake Tanganyika is changing,
and the fate of millions lie in
the balance By Andrew Cohen
Lake Tanganyika Image from
NASA's SeaWIFs project
S
tanding on the steep rocky shores of
Lake Tanganyika at sunset, looking
out at fishermen heading out for
their nightly lamp-boat fishing trips, it’s
easy to imagine this immense 32,900km2
body of water as serene and unchanging.
Located in the western branch of the
great African Rift Valley it’s divided among
four countries; Tanzania, the Democrat-
60 Business Times Africa | 2017
ANDREW COHEN
University Distinguished Professor Joint
Professor, Geosciences and Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology, University of
Arizona
ic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and
Zambia. It’s one of the oldest lakes in the
world, probably dating back about 10 mil-
lion years.
That expanse of geological time has
permitted literally hundreds of unusual
species of fish and invertebrates to evolve
in isolation - organisms that are unique
among the world’s lakes. Every day mil-