LAKE VICTORIA BASIN

Conclusion

The natural resource-rich Lake Victoria Basin is prone to small and large-scale, systemic environmental degradation, including, but not limited to, soil erosion, deforestation, water pollution and loss of biodiversity. The challenges affecting the Basin require basin-wide, coordinated management approaches, including land restoration initiatives and integrated water resources management. Much of the current and planned interventions for the Lake Victoria Basin work at the interface between land and water management; this includes activities that focus on the monitoring of changes in water quality due to sediment and nutrient deposition, while also paying attention to the management of the whole catchment area. While acknowledging the need for basin-wide solutions, it is also important to note that some of the challenges faced by the Lake Victoria Basin are local, and therefore need local solutions. For example, heavy metal pollution, through copper, mercury, lead and cadmium contamination, is concentrated in sediments found in the Mwanza Gulf and, therefore, appropriate actions need to target these particular areas. Wetlands, which are important for food production, hydrological stability and ecological productivity, continue to be degraded. Shallow wetlands are particularly vulnerable as they are used for the intensive

cultivation of crops such as sugarcane, sweet potatoes and yams; or excavated for sand and clay for brick moulding. Protection and reclamation efforts through national laws and designation as Ramsar sites are slow. The water hyacinth is the most prominent waterweed in the Lake Victoria Basin; the weed is often blamed for hindering navigation and transport, hydropower schemes and fishing. Efforts to control the weed through mechanical and biological means have produced mixed results and, in many cases, the weed has been able to quickly re-establish itself. The introduction of the Nile perch – while considered to be a commercial success as a result of a marked increase in export proceeds – is blamed for the loss of close to 200 fish species in Lake Victoria (Kayombo and Jorgensen 2006). It is also blamed for local protein malnutrition as the rising prices have meant that locals can no longer afford to buy. The institutional arrangements for the management of Lake Victoria are now geared up for the sustainable management of the environmental resources of the Lake Basin through a range of programmes, including the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Programme. Both the Lake Victoria Basin Commission and the East African Community provide the basin- wide forum for the general management of the basin.

Small scale fishing provides the much needed protein to the local household food mix

105