LAKE VICTORIA BASIN

Challenges

Environmental stresses faced by the LVB which are highlighted in this report include:

• Stresses within the Lake such as over-fishing, oil spills, untreated liquid waste, invasive alien species (particularly water hyacinth) and over-abstraction of water from the Lake Basin; • Stresses on littoral zones such as construction and farming on the shoreline, conversion of wetlands, and poor solid waste management; • Stresses on the wider Basin such as land degradation, deforestation, proliferation of water weeds (particularly water hyacinth), pollution from agro-chemicals, sediment loads, and poor solid waste management; and • Stresses from outside the Basin such as atmospheric nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorous that are transported into the Basin through the air. If the water and land resources in the LVB continue to deteriorate, the Basin will reach a point when it will no longer be able to adequately support the livelihood demands of the growing population. The stresses on the Lake Basin, which manifest themselves through deteriorating water quality, fluctuating lake levels, the overexploitation of natural resources, the resurgence of water hyacinth, and climate change, are partly responsible for the lake’s reduced capacity to provide some of its ecosystem goods and services. The establishment of Lake Victoria Basin Commission in 2006 has provided a starting point for exploring solutions to the environmental challenges faced by the Basin. The LVBC has a mandate to coordinate, promote and facilitate conservation and sustainable utilization of resources in the Basin. It aims to encourage appropriate stakeholder participation in conservation and management of resources at various levels, including at village, local, national and regional levels.

Fisherman clears Lake Victoria of water hyacinth near Junga, Uganda

Deforestation in Rwanda

100