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This is a list of notable events relating to the environment in 1954. They relate to environmental law, conservation, environmentalism and environmental issues.
Lake Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia and a source of the Blue Nile. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately 84 kilometres long and 66 kilometres wide, with a maximum depth of 15 metres, and an elevation of 1,788 metres. Lake Tana is fed by the Gilgel Abay, Reb and Gumara rivers. Its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 square kilometres, depending on season and rainfall. The lake level has been regulated since the construction of the control weir where the lake discharges into the Blue Nile. This controls the flow to the Blue Nile Falls and hydro-power station.
Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus Perca, which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from Greek: πέρκη, romanized: perke, meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch.
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately 59,947 km2 (23,146 sq mi), Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after Lake Superior in North America. In terms of volume, Lake Victoria is the world's ninth-largest continental lake, containing about 2,424 km3 (1.965×109 acre⋅ft) of water. Lake Victoria occupies a shallow depression in Africa. The lake has an average depth of 40 m (130 ft) and a maximum depth of 80–81 m (262–266 ft). Its catchment area covers 169,858 km2 (65,583 sq mi). The lake has a shoreline of 7,142 km (4,438 mi) when digitized at the 1:25,000 level, with islands constituting 3.7% of this length.
The Nile perch, also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi, Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is widespread throughout much of the Afrotropical realm, being native to the Congo, Nile, Senegal, Niger and Lake Chad, Volta, Lake Turkana, and other river basins. It also occurs in the brackish waters of Lake Maryut in Egypt. The Nile perch is a fish of substantial economic and food-security importance in East Africa. Originally described as Labrus niloticus, among the marine wrasses, the species has also been referred to as Centropomus niloticus. Common names include African snook, Victoria perch, and many local names in various African languages, such as the Luo name mbuta or mputa. In Tanzania, it is called sangara, sankara, or chenku. In Francophone African countries, it is known as capitaine. Its name in the Hausa language is giwan ruwa, meaning "water elephant".
The White Nile is a river in Africa, the minor of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the larger being the Blue Nile. The name "White" comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color.
Lake Albert, originally known as Lake Mwitanzige by the Banyoro, Nam Ovoyo Bonyo by the Alur, and temporarily as Lake Mobutu Sese Seko, is a lake located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is Africa's seventh-largest lake, as well as the second biggest of Uganda's Great Lakes.
Lake Kyoga or Lake Kioga is a large shallow lake in Uganda, about 1,720 km2 (660 sq mi) in area and at an elevation of 1,033 metres. The Victoria Nile flows through the lake on its way from Lake Victoria to Lake Albert. The main inflow from Lake Victoria is regulated by the Nalubaale Power Station in Jinja. Another source of water is the Mount Elgon region on the border between Uganda and Kenya. While Lake Kyoga is part of the African Great Lakes system, it is not itself considered a great lake.
The Sudd is a vast swamp in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile's Baḥr al-Jabal section. The Arabic word sudd is derived from sadd, meaning "barrier" or "obstruction". The term "the sudd" has come to refer to any large solid floating vegetation island or mat. The area which the swamp covers is one of the world's largest wetlands and the largest freshwater wetland in the Nile Basin.
The Latidae, known as the lates perches, are a family of perch-like fish found in Africa, Asia, and the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Including about 13 species, the family, previously classified subfamily Latinae in family Centropomidae, was raised to family status in 2004 after a cladistic analysis showed the original Centropomidae were paraphyletic.
Darwin's Nightmare is a 2004 Austrian-French-Belgian documentary film written and directed by Hubert Sauper, dealing with the environmental and social effects of the fishing industry around Lake Victoria in Tanzania. It premiered at the 2004 Venice Film Festival, and was nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 78th Academy Awards. The Boston Globe called it "the year's best documentary about the animal world."
Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many ways, especially the difference in levels of osmolarity. To survive in fresh water, fish need a range of physiological adaptations.
Lake Kwania is in the districts of Lira, Apac and Amolatar in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is part of a large wetland along the White Nile between Lake Victoria and Lake Albert. The wetland, which includes Lake Kwania, the even larger Lake Kyoga, and other water bodies and swamps, consists of about 3,420 square kilometres (1,320 sq mi) of open water and about 2,180 square kilometres (840 sq mi) of permanent swamps. Of this total, Lake Kwania accounts for 540 square kilometres (210 sq mi), about 16 percent, of the open water.
There are two major sources of fish in Uganda; one is from aquaculture, the other from fishing in rivers and lakes. The latter has made up the largest and most significant share of all fishing. Open water covers 15.3 percent of Uganda's surface and comprises five major lakes which are the main sources of fish in the country. Lake Victoria continues to be the most important water body in Uganda both in size and contribution to the total fish catch, followed by Lake Albert and Lake Kyoga.
Migingo is a 2,000-square-metre island in Kenya on Lake Victoria. The island was the center of a low-level territorial dispute between Kenya and Uganda and is extremely densely populated. Migingo is a main source of fish to the Kenyan people.
Lake Nabugabo is a small freshwater lake in Uganda.
Lake Victoria supports Africa's largest inland fishery, with the majority of the catch being the invasive Nile perch, introduced in the Lake in the 1950s.
Lake Bisina, also known as Lake Salisbury, is a freshwater lake in eastern Uganda. It is a satellite lake of Lake Kyoga, which it drains into, and the two are to some extent directly connected by papyrus swamps. During the high-water rainy season, Lake Bisina can be up to 6 m (20 ft) deep and often directly connects with the smaller Lake Opeta, but during the dry season the two are clearly separated.
Haplochromis vonlinnei is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Victoria. It is greyish in color with a distinct mid-lateral band, and a rather slender shape. It feeds mainly on smaller fish. This species can reach a length of 15.9 centimetres (6.3 in) SL. The population of the species has declined due to the introduction of the Nile perch in the 1950s. It has not been recorded since 1980 and the IUCN lists it as "Critically Endangered" and considers it may already be extinct. This fish is named in honour of the Swedish naturalist, Carl Linnaeus.
Lake Victoria supports Africa's largest inland fishery, with the majority of present catch being the invasive Nile perch, introduced to the Lake in the 1950s. Prior to the introduction of Nile perch as well as Nile tilapia, the fish community was very different and consisted mainly of 'Ngege' and Victoria tilapia as well as vast numbers of Haplochromis species. Fish communities in the first half of the 20th century are known primarily from a unique fisheries survey conducted in 1927-1928 by the Colonial Office.
Lake Kanyaboli is the largest oxbow lake in Kenya and the second largest in Africa,formed after River Yala disconnected from its course at the meander stage, leaving behind a U-shaped lake. The lake is found in Siaya County in western Kenya and is home to a variety of fish species that have almost disappeared from Lake Victoria, the country's largest freshwater lake.
