9510042 Johnson The large lakes of the East African Rift Valley are among the oldest on Earth, and are vital resources for the indigenous people populating their basins. They are unique among the large lakes of the world in terms of their sensitivity to climatic change, their rich and diverse populations of endemic species, their circulation dynamics and water-column chemistry, and their long, continuous, high-resolution records of past climatic change in the tropics. A comprehensive study of the large African lakes is long overdue. Societal need for the sustainable utilization of these important natural resources offers a compelling reason for examination of biological food webs, water quality and past climate variability in East Africa. These scientific and societal issues have stimulated the initiation of the International Decade for the East African Lakes (IDEAL). The scientific issues to be addressed by IDEAL were conceived and discussed at the IDEAL Symposium on the Limnology, Climatology and Paleoclimatology of the East African Lakes, held in Jinja, Uganda, February 18-22, 1993. Recommendations from this meeting resulted in the publication of the IDEAL Science and Implementation Plan. This award provides funds for further planning, logistical management and workshops for the paleoclimate initiative within IDEAL. Funds will be used for meetings of the American Steering Committee of IDEAL, coordination between the paleoclimate community and the other scientific and training initiatives within IDEAL, and coordination with European and African components of IDEAL. ***
