EnviComm Blog

A dying Lake Victoria: East Africa’s biggest crisis

Deep inside Uganda in a district called Kalangala, parts of Lake Victoria are no more. These parts have dried to the extent that you can walk on the lake. Moving on to Kenya, fishermen at Sango Rota are also worries that the lake is slowly turning into dry land. These concerns about the lake are widespread across the region and gravity of the situation is better summarized by the words of the Tanzanian regional commissioner for Mwanza, Mr Daniel Ole Njoolayi, who clearly states: "Without the lake, there will be no East Africa. We need to investigate what is happening to our lake."

Lake Victoria has had a volatile and erratic past. Thirteen years of measurements taken by satellite radar altimeters combined with historical ground measurements reveal that in the 105-year history of accurate measurements on the lake, water levels have fluctuated widely.

The year 1902, saw the levels dropping to their lowest ever of less than 10 metres. But the heavy rains rejuvenated the lake in 1961 and 1962, which raised these levels up by 2 meters.

From that time, levels above the gauge in Jinja, Uganda, stayed above 11.9 meters (about 1,134 meters above sea level) until December 2005 when they dropped to alarmingly low levels and were not expected to stop dropping until the April rains arrived. But even with these rains, experts still say that for the levels to rise to the desired levels, heavy rainfall that will cause flooding is needed.

This large water mass located at the heart of East Africa is considered one of the most important shared resources in the Eastern Africa region. As a shared resource, it is a unifying factor for these countries.

Beyond this symbolic importance, the lake is of great socio-economic potential covering an area of 69,000sq km making it the second largest fresh water lake in the world not to mention that it is the source of the Nile.

The, Lake Victoria catchment area covers an area of approximately 193,000sq covering Kenya Uganda, Tanzania and parts of Rwanda and Burundi, an area described as Lake Victoria Basin. Meaning that it is roughly the size of an African country with a population of over 30 million people (i.e. 30% of the total population of three countries, i.e. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) and a gross economic product of about US $ 5 billion!

Economically, the lake is a resource we cannot afford to let dry. It still has untapped potential in terms of transport and communication, agriculture, water and energy, trade and industry and if the whole basin is considered, this potential further covers the varied natural resources in wildlife, forestry and minerals only to mention a few.

Specifically put, 80% of the populations in the lake basin are engaged in agricultural production, majority of them being small scale farmers producing crops like maize and cash crops like tea, cotton and coffee.

The fish resource of the lake is a source of sustenance either directly or indirectly for about 3 million people who are engaged in subsistence and commercial farming. The lake harbours over 500 fish species and commercial fish farming earns the region an annual income of about 300-400 million USD.

Other importances include transport where it is the major inland transport linkage with the other East Africa Community partner states. It also serves the major source of water for domestic, industrial and commercial use in these countries and a major reservoir for hydroelectric generation.

This lake also provides hydroelectricity that is used to serve countries surrounding it. The lowering of the levels therefore saw two of these countries, Uganda and Tanzania plunged in darkness in a bid to ration electricity. This load shedding has been and still is a big setback to the economies of these countries.

But the most obvious importance of the lake is that it is rich in biodiversity and acts as a major climate modulator in the region.

Other than its economic importance, lake Victoria being the source of river Nile is also of great concern among countries around the Nile basin who later formed the Nile Basin Initiative, i.e. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi, Eritrea, Egypt.

This initiative was formed to resolve the water conflicts as a result of agreements made during the colonial period that did not permit equitable use of the shared water resource. The main conflict revolving around water, water whose source is L. Victoria. It is important to note that a revised agreement to ensure equitable use this was recently signed by member states of the Nile Basin Initiative.

So, not only does L. Victoria’s existence (or lack of) affect the three countries that harbors it but also other countries around it.

Such is the importance of this lake that what experts considered as an ordinary occurrence has grown so big, big enough to spark an international environmental crisis. Africa’s largest lake is shrinking at a very high pace.

The World Bank is equally concerned with the decrease in the water levels of this lake. According to a report released in January 2006, it attributes the falling water levels to the 3-year drought period and over abstraction of water for power generation.

As much as we love to blame the hot temperatures and lack of rain for the drying of the lake, man and his activities is the reason to the drop of water levels. Research has shown that high deforestation rates of forests surrounding the lake, poor agricultural practices and drainage of critical wetlands have contributed greatly to this phenomenon.

The rate at which forests around the lake are disappearing is alarming. These forests play the role of carbon sink and also of catchment hence determining the rainfall patterns of the area surrounding the lake. When they are destroyed, the most likely result is global warming leading to hot temperatures around the lake with no or little rainfall hence the drying of the lake.

This lack often rain coupled with the heavy draining of this water body by the countries surrounding it to serve their economic growth has contributed greatly to its slow but sure demise.

East Africa is in the process of losing the lake before realizing its full potential. It is time these countries took serious measure to combat the environmental threats posed to this lake. It is an irony that though the lakes potential is vast, investments in it and its basin by both local and international entrepreneurs are low and the people living along the basins are greatly affected by poverty.

Sustainable measures need to be taken to ensure that this important resource does not dry out. The formation of regional bodies like the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) must be applauded. But this is not enough. Sensitization at the grass root level must also happen.

The locals living around this lake must be educated and informed on sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of interacting with the lake. They must be part and parcel of any decision made in regard to the lake.

Countries with riparian rights of this lake also need to work together in endeavors to protect the lake. No single country can go at it alone. Unity and understanding will strengthen the initiatives and make them more effective.

By using the lake sustainable, the Eastern African region has the potential of an economic growth that will be the envy of many. If not for anything, then for this reason, let us not let go of the lake, our lives depend on it.