Background

During the past three years, the International Association of Great Lakes Research conference organizers have been increasing the global scope of the organization, from a mostly North American focus to a broader international one. As part of this effort, some of the world’s largest freshwater lakes, found in Africa, have been included in the program, mostly from efforts taken by the African Center for Aquatic Research and Education (ACARE). ACARE is in the process of enhancing scientific inquiry on the AGL. During ACARE's recent AGL Stakeholder Workshop, held during November 5-7, 2019, six science advisory groups were created on seven of the African Great Lakes (AGL). The purpose of each Advisory Group is to harmonize scientific inquiry on each of the AGL, with lakes Albert and Edward forming one group due to overlap of experts on both lakes.

The intention is to have a representative of each of the newly formed AGL Advisory Groups in attendance at the 2020 IAGLR conference, including at least one member from the:

Lake Edward/Albert Advisory Group

Lake Kivu Advisory Group - Dr. Fabrice Muvundja

Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa Basin Fisheries and Aquaculture Network

Lake Tanganyika-Scientific Advisory Group

Lake Turkana Advisory Group

Lake Victoria Advisory Group