Livelihoods at stake as Lake Victoria’s papyrus swamps come under pressure: Photos

Livelihoods at stake as Lake Victoria’s papyrus swamps come under pressure: Photos

By Patrick Newcombe, via MongaBay The papyrus swamps at the edges of Lake Victoria in East Africa have for generations provided a livelihood to communities living here. While some harvest reeds to make into mats, baskets, and handicrafts, others catch the plentiful fish that nurse in the shelter of the reedbeds. The swamps are also home to birds that have become specialized to live amidst the papyrus reeds in a […]

February 7, 2024 35

Africa

Livelihoods at stake as Lake Victoria’s papyrus swamps come under pressure

Sarah Oginga harvesting papyrus reeds. Image by Patrick B. Newcombe. By Patrick Newcombe via Mongabay As the sun rises over the wetlands on the shores of Lake Victoria, papyrus harvesters set out into the swamps to harvest stalks of papyrus. At the docks, fishermen returning from a night’s work haul their boats onto the shore. The deep, ringing song of the papyrus gonolek (Laniarius mufumbiri) and the hooting of the […]

February 6, 2024 17