For Sustainable Development: The Protection of Lake Tanganyika for Future Generations through Social Mobilization Projects

Abstract

Based on the principle of intergenerational equity as a pillar of sustainable development, this article seeks to analyse to what extent this principle can be applied in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Considering the ongoing conflict in the country, is it possible to envision environmental protection for future generations? To answer this question, the applicable legal framework for the protection of Lake Tanganyika was analysed, alongside implementation reports from two social mobilization projects aimed at the same goal. The research concluded that the content of the principle under analysis needs to be adapted to the observed context, where the project beneficiaries were unable to safeguard the protection of future generations in a broad sense, but only of the immediate next generation: their own children.