ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

East Africa charts environmentally sustainable economic development in the Lake Victoria Basin

The five-year Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) that began in July 1997, was initiated by the three East African countries — Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — in response to threats to both environmental and socio-economic development within the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB). The natural resources in the basin, worth up to about US $5 billion annually, support an estimated population of 30 million people living within the basin, and millions of others beyond it.

Lake Victoria is shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, whose governments signed a Tripartite Agreement on 5 August 1994. This agreement provided for the preparation and implementation of the LVEMP, whose vision is: «A stable Lake Victoria ecosystem capable of meeting demand for food, income, safe water, employment, disease free environment and a conserved biodiversity». The project is funded by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and a grant from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) through the World Bank, totalling US $70 million for the three riparian countries. Over the five years, Kenya will receive US $24.3 million, while Tanzania and Uganda will receive US $20.4 million and US $25.3 million, respectively.

Benefits

After the five years of implementation, the LVEMP has already started benefiting the countries in visible ways. Informative baseline data are being created in all its areas of focus. Relevant human and institutional capacities are being built for the purpose of sustaining implementation into the future. Pilot projects designed to test suitable and sustainable environmental management measures are being conducted. Successfully proven management measures that are sustainable for maximum environmental and socio-economic benefits, are already being implemented within the LVB.

Fisheries’ management

In Uganda, the LVEMP has been implemented under nine components: Fisheries Management; Fisheries Research; Water Quality and Quantity Monitoring; Water Hyacinth Control; Land Use Management; Wetlands Management; Catchment Afforestation Pilot Project (CAPP); Industrial and Municipal Waste Management; and Support to the Zoology Department of Makerere University. Data has been collected in the nine areas of focus to create reliable baseline information on the threats to be addressed and will provide the knowledge base for designing the plans of action.

The Fisheries Management component is implemented by the Fisheries Resources Department and is coordinated by Dick Nyeko, Commissioner for Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. Nyeko said a study to develop a rationale and a mechanism for establishing a Fish Levy Trust Fund was commissioned in the third year of the project. He said the biggest achievement is that concepts of the fish levy trust fund system were clearly understood by the fisheries managers. A system was developed to start retaining revenue from the activities of fisheries exploitation, to finance costs of fisheries management. It is yet to be tested and implemented.

The Fisheries Research component is implemented by the Fisheries Resources Research Institute (FRRI) and is coordinated by Dr. J. Balirwa, acting Director of FRRI. Dr. Balirwa said fish stock assessment on Lake Victoria has been completed and information is available on the types, size structure, distribution, density and magnitude of commercially important fish species. He said recommendations were made on control of fishing effort, gears and methods. Population characteristics of major commercial fish species, notably Nile Perch, have been monitored, and specific recommendations on management of Nile Perch have been made and adopted.

Water quality

The Water Quality and Quantity Monitoring component is implemented by the Water Resources Management Department (WRMD) in the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment, and is coordinated by Nsubuga Senfuma, WRMD‘s Commissioner. It aims at monitoring parameters that are likely to be leading to the deterioration of the water quality of Lake Victoria. Nsubuga said it is looking at the causes, processes and pathways through which pollutants reach the lake from the lake catchments. He said the Water Quality Model, which is being developed in the component, would provide decision-makers with the main management options for the proper conservation of the lake ecosystem. The component has a developmental objective of ensuring water of good quality and sufficient quantity for power production, irrigation, and other economic activities.

Water Hyacinth control

The Water Hyacinth Unit in the Fisheries Resources Department of the ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, implements the Water Hyacinth Control component. The head of the unit, Engineer B.N.K. Wadda, coordinates it. It addresses the increasing water hyacinth proliferation in order to reverse its negative environmental and socio-economic effects in Lake Victoria. Engineer Wadda said an integrated approach, involving manual, mechanical and biological control methods enhanced by community participation led to effective weed control. «Visible reduction in weed cover over the lake by about 85% has been realized over the past five years,» he said.

Why the LVEMP?

According to Dr. F. L. Orach-Meza, National Executive Secretary of the LVEMP for Uganda, the project was initiated in 1992 in response to the visible and increasing environmental degradation, arising from the various socio-economic activities of the rapidly rising human population in the LVB. He said this initiative came after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, and whose Agenda 21 had an influence on the approach used to design the LVEMP.

Dr. Orach-Meza said the threats to both environmental and socio-economic development within the LVB included, among others, soil erosion, nutrient and sediment inflows, destruction of wetlands, inappropriate agricultural practices, inadequate collection and treatment of industrial and municipal wastes, deforestation, destructive fisheries practices and eutrophication.

The LVEMP, whose slogan is: «For Maximum Sustainable Benefits», is a comprehensive regional environmental and development programme aimed at the conservation of Lake Victoria and its basin, and achieving socially and environmentally sustainable economic development within the LVB. Its major objective is to restore a healthy, varied lake ecosystem that is inherently stable and able to support, in a sustainable way, the increasing activities in the lake and its catchments for the benefit of the people of the riparian countries as well as the international community.

Its objectives are to: Maximize sustainable benefits to the riparian communities of Lake Victoria from using resources within the basin to generate food, employment and income, supply safe water and sustain a disease-free environment; conserve the biodiversity and genetic resources for the benefit of both the riparian and global community; harmonize regional and national management programmes in order to achieve, to the maximum extent possible, the reversal of environmental degradation of Lake Victoria; and, promote regional cooperation.

Obstacles

Dr. Orach-Meza said, however, that before achieving these objectives it was found necessary to overcome the following constraints: inadequate baseline information on the threats being observed; inadequate human and institutional capacities; and, lack of tested and suitable management measures and practices to be adopted. The initial phase of the LVEMP focused on eliminating the above constraints.

Organisation

The Tripartite agreement provided for the establishment of institutional arrangements both at national and regional levels in the implementation arrangements. The implementation of the project is done through relevant national institutions and government departments, and is coordinated by the National Secretariats for LVEMP. A regional Secretariat, based in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, was also established to ensure uniformity in approach to project implementation, coordinate all regional meetings and activities, and follow up of harmonization of policies.

The National Secretariat in each country provides a central day-to-day contact point and information clearing-house for donors and all agencies implementing the project. The National Secretariat, headed by the National Executive Secretary, is responsible for coordination of implementation activities of LVEMP, overall monitoring and reporting on progress of implementation for decision making about the overall project. It is also responsible for ensuring compliance with IDA, GEF and the respective government reporting, procurement and disbursement procedures.

The Regional Policy and Steering Committee (RPSC) is the top policy organ of the project and is responsible for policy guidance, and regulations and standards for compliance by riparian countries. It is also responsible for ensuring that regional coordination of the programme is maintained. Three Permanent Secretaries responsible for natural resources, environment, and water represent each country. Its chairmanship rotates annually among the three member states.

The Project Implementation Committee (PIC) is responsible for review of physical and financial progress of all project activities, and is composed of all Coordinators of each component and is chaired by the National Executive Secretary. Also, National Water Hyacinth Steering Committees responsible for the control and management of the water hyacinth have been established in each country.

An International Panel of Scientists appointed by the RPSC serves as an advisory group for the scientific studies in the lake. It comprises seven members, six of whom are drawn from the three countries and one member nominated by the World Bank. They meet annually to review scientific issues arising from project implementation. They maintain an up-to-date inventory of international scientific research pertinent to LVEMP programmes, assist with identifying international training opportunities for researchers from riparian countries, and provide advice on specific issues on the project.

Dr. Orach-Meza says the LVEMP provides the avenues for harmonizing the relationship between economy and environment, and developing linkages among programmes concerning poverty alleviation, sustainable livelihood, reduction of vulnerability to natural hazards, long-term security, economic growth and the health of the human being, ecosystems and the natural resource base. It promotes intersectoral, interagency, intergovernmental and inter-project partnerships for the LVB‘s sustainable development.