LAKE VICTORIA BASIN

The mining industry in Tanzania is an important land- use activity and currently contributes about 2.3 per cent of GDP (Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2007a). Diamonds are mined at Mwadui, in the Tanzanian part of the Basin. The main gold fields in this area are in the Lake Zone, south and east of Lake Victoria, extending up to the Kenyan border. The most active sites are Geita, Bulyanhulu (near Kahama), Iramba, Sekenke, Kilima Fedha, Serengeti, Nyambegena, Musoma and Tarime. The mine waste dumps, mercury contamination from artisanal mining activities, and the continued pumping of saline wastewater from mines and quarries, threaten to pollute the lower part of the Basin. Energy Woodfuel provides over 90 per cent of the energy requirements of the Basin countries (Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2007a). Other potential energy sources such as solar, geothermal and wind energy are not significantly developed. Wind power is used mainly to pump water, but only in a few areas. Hot springs are present in parts of the Basin, but these remain unexploited. Similarly, solar power generation is on a small-scale and usually off-grid. In Burundi, there are many small hydroelectric dams such as Rwegura with an installed capacity of 18 MW, and the Kavuruga and Ndurumu both of which have a low power generating capacity of less than 1 MW. Some of the hydropower stations generate very little power during the dry season because of insufficient water supply. In Kenya, fuelwood accounts for 70 per cent of the energy mix, while oil and electricity account for 20 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively (Lake Victoria Basin

Diamondmining portrayed onTanzania stamp

Commission 2007a). The Kenyan part of the Basin has the potential for hydroelectric power generation: according to the Lake Basin Development Authority Master Plan (1987) the area could generate up to 563 MW of hydroelectric power: 159 MW from the Nzoia River, 114 MW from the Yala River, 14 MW from the Nyando River, 249 MW from the Sondu-Miriu River system and 27 MW from the Kuja–Migori River system. Currently, however, hydroelectric power generation is limited, but is set to expand once the Sondu-Miriu Hydropower project comes on stream (Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2007a). In Tanzania around 90 per cent of national energy needs are met by woodfuel, while petroleum and electricity account for 8 per cent of total energy consumption; coal and other sources account for less than 1 per cent (Lake Victoria Basin Commission 2007a).

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