CEBioS contributes to scientific capacity building for sustainable fisheries in the D.R. Congo

In August 2018, an intensive 10-day summer school took place at the Centre de Recherche en Hydrobiologie-Uvira (CRH) in Uvira, South Kivu province, D.R. Congo, with over 30 participants gathering from several regional institutes (listed below). A second part of the workshop followed on October 23^rd-24^th, 2018.

Picture: Charlotte Huyghe

The workshops covered a diverse array of broadly applicable topics; from scientific writing, literature search and how to avoid predatory journals, to statistics, introductory (population) genetics and phylogenetics, morphometry, fisheries science and management, sustainable aquaculture, the Nagoya Protocol, and interviewing techniques. Part of the teaching material was developed within the CEBioS programme. Throughout the workshops, the participants presented and received individual feedback on their projects. Teachers and participants also worked together on a socio-economic survey among fishermen, merchants, and policy makers to assess their opinions on fisheries management options for Lake Tanganyika. The resulting manuscript will be compiled by external CEBioS expert Els De Keyzer, and will be co-authored by all workshop participants. This endeavour will further strengthen the North-South collaboration on sustainable fisheries in the African Great Lakes Region. The workshop was funded by VLIR-UOS, co-organised by Belgian (KU Leuven; RBINS, OD Taxonomy & Phylogeny; UHasselt, the latter represented by former CEBioS scientist Maarten Vanhove), Norwegian (Nord University) and Congolese partners, and logistically supported by the CRH-Uvira.

The participating regional institutes/organisations were: Centre de Recherche en Hydrobiologie Uvira (CRH), Université Catholique de Bukavu (UCB), Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Bukavu (ISP), Appui à la Lutte contre l’Oppression faite à l’Enfant et à la femme (ALOE), Institut des Sciences Agronomiques et de Développement (ISAD), Université Shalom de Bunia, Réseau d’Innovations Environnementales (RIE) and Centre Diocésain pour la Protection de l’Environnement (CDPE).

Picture: Joost Raeymaekers