Saving Lake Malawi
Geography
Saving Lake Malawi Lakes are complex ecosystems with many species of animals and plants interacting with each other and their environment. Every lake is a unique body of the water, reflecting many of the characteristics of the surrounding watershed and the climate, as well as the shape and volume of the lake basin. Malawi is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. The country has no ocean coastline, but has the third largest lake in Africa. It is known as the first lake in the world to have more species of fish and also the world fourth deepest lake (Thomas R. and Sydenham). However, today Lake Malawi still faces environmental destruction due to high population and economic value. Malawi is one of the poor countries in Africa that depends on their lake for living. Therefore the government and citizens of Malawi should act upon the environmental destruction in order to preserve their Lake. One of the biggest problems facing Lake Malawi is high population. As the population growth rate increases, the demand of fish increases and the lake faces a serious problem of overfishing. The Malawi National Wildlife organization conducted a research into one of the fishing community along the lake and found that between 1910 and 1992 the population had increased. The town of Chembe, a fishing community along the lake, had a population that grew from 555 to 4,671 (Smith, L.). Over the past years, things have really changed in Malawi, Malawians feel like the only job for them is to be fishermen. Some of the young men do succeed and go to school, but end up as fishermen because there are no job opportunities. On the other hand, the government of Malawi must consider building a family program to ease the current rapid population growth. This will allow Malawians to improve the men, women and children health and reduce the needs of abortions and expenditure for high risk infant care. This
Saving Lake Malawi Lakes are complex ecosystems with many species of animals and plants interacting with each other and their environment. Every lake is a unique body of the water, reflecting many of the characteristics of the surrounding watershed and the climate, as well as the shape and volume of the lake basin. Malawi is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. The country has no ocean coastline, but has the third largest lake in Africa. It is known as the first lake in the world to have more species of fish and also the world fourth deepest lake (Thomas R. and Sydenham). However, today Lake Malawi still faces environmental destruction due to high population and economic value. Malawi is one of the poor countries in Africa that depends on their lake for living. Therefore the government and citizens of Malawi should act upon the environmental destruction in order to preserve their Lake. One of the biggest problems facing Lake Malawi is high population. As the population growth rate increases, the demand of fish increases and the lake faces a serious problem of overfishing. The Malawi National Wildlife organization conducted a research into one of the fishing community along the lake and found that between 1910 and 1992 the population had increased. The town of Chembe, a fishing community along the lake, had a population that grew from 555 to 4,671 (Smith, L.). Over the past years, things have really changed in Malawi, Malawians feel like the only job for them is to be fishermen. Some of the young men do succeed and go to school, but end up as fishermen because there are no job opportunities. On the other hand, the government of Malawi must consider building a family program to ease the current rapid population growth. This will allow Malawians to improve the men, women and children health and reduce the needs of abortions and expenditure for high risk infant care. This
Cited: * Thomas, R Sydenham, S. Malawi [online] www.kidcyber.com. au (2009) * Smith, L. “A historical Perspective on the fishery Chembe Enclave Village in Lake Malawi National Park. * World Resources Institute. World Resource 1994-95: A Guide to the Global Environment. P.358