VICTOR BROTT

LAKE VICTORIA · A SHARED VISION

The Swedish government has authorized Sida to embark on a long-term

commitment to support sustainable development in the Lake Victoria
basin in East Africa. The commitment is developed in close collaboration
with East African partners, in particular the East African Community, EAC.

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VICTOR BROTT

A S E A O F P RO B L E M S • A N O C E A N O F O P P O RT U N I T I E S

Lake Victoria, with a surface area fisheries, tourism, agriculture, for- Potentials and Constraints
of 68,800 km2, is the world’s sec- estry, water, power, industry and The economy of the lake basin has
ond largest freshwater lake and is, transport. seen periods of growth, driven by
together with its tributaries the Today Lake Victoria and its the agricultural output, rich fisher-
source of the river Nile. The lake natural resources are environmen- ies, newly established mainly agri-
has the largest freshwater fishery tally threatened and so are the liveli- cultural-based industries and min-
grounds in the world. While the hoods of the people living in the ing operations. The employment
three riparian states are the EAC catchment area. Intense population rate is high by East African stand-
members Kenya, Tanzania and growth and unsustainable exploita- ards. The potential for development
Uganda, large portions of the ter- tion of natural resources in and is to be found in the people and in
ritories of Rwanda and Burundi around the lake are eroding the live- the rich natural resources. The
are located within the basin, as lihoods of the people. Environmen- greatest development challenges
well. A total of close to 40 million tal deterioration is increasing pov- facing the Lake Victoria basin are
people live in the catchment area, erty, and poverty is exacerbating the its socio-economic and ecological
of which some 30 million live in environmental degradation. About problems, with a close correlation
the three East African countries. half the population has an income between poverty and environmental
The majority of them derive their per capita of less than one dollar degradation. The prevalence of
livelihood directly or indirectly per day, the internationally ac- HIV/AIDS is alarmingly high. With-
from the lake or from farming ac- cepted poverty line. out addressing these issues, as well
tivities around the lake in its basin. In the mid-1990s, the three as the inequality between men and
With its vast expanse of water East African Heads of State took a women, sustained growth cannot be
and breathtaking landscapes along joint initiative to promote devel- achieved. At the same time, substan-
its shores the lake is a natural sym- opment in the Lake Victoria re- tial growth is required in order to al-
bol of unity and potential wealth for gion. To this purpose EAC was leviate poverty. During the last dec-
the surrounding countries. It pro- given the mandate to coordinate ade growth has been steady in Tan-
vides an enormous potential for lu- development activities at the re- zania and Uganda (some 4 and 6
crative economic activities such as gional level. per cent per annum), while the

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 “The problems, challenges and opportunities posed by the Lake are today

of such magnitude that they cannot be faced by the riparian states acting

separately. Our challenge is to contribute to the development of a collective

approach to roll back the environmental threat that hangs over the Lake

and unlock the vast potential of the Lake for the benefit of the people of

the region.”

J A K AYA K I K W E T E ,
Minister for Foreign Affairs
and International Cooperation,
Tanzania

economy of Kenya has been stag- effluent discharges from industries, bat the weed, applying manual, me-
nant. and inflow of residues from the use chanical and biological control
Economic growth in the region of chemical herbicides and pesti- methods. From late 1999 onwards a
during the last few decades has been cides in agricultural operations all drastic decrease of the water hya-
based mainly on the exploitation of contribute to this degradation. Ex- cinth population has been noticed.
natural resources. Many of the isting facilities for disposal or treat- The future will show if the problem
present economic activities are im- ment of sewage, urban refuse, and has been permanently addressed. In
plemented in an unsustainable man- industrial waste are generally in any case, the underlying problems
ner. To achieve sustainable growth poor condition and quite inad- with nutrient rich soil, human
should be possible, but presents equate to meet the demands. waste, urban runoff, and effluent
tough challenges for many years discharges from industry entering
ahead. The Water Hyacinth Menace the lake remain to be addressed.
Nutrients in the water provide the
Environment under Threat breeding grounds for various inva- Fishery in Decline
The ecosystem of Lake Victoria has sive weeds, including the menacing Lake Victoria has one of the most
undergone substantial and mostly water hyacinth. This weed entered prolific and productive inland fish-
negative changes over the last thirty the lake during the 1980s. At its eries in Africa. At one time it har-
years. One of the driving factors is height, the fast spreading water hya- boured over 500 endemic fish spe-
the unintentional nutrient enrich- cinth covered strategic portions of cies. The introduction, in the 1950s,
ment of the lake, which has altered the lake’s surface and effectively of “exotic” fish species such as the
its ecological balance. hindered economic activities. The Nile perch and the Nile tilapia al-
The largely unplanned rapid ur- presence of the hyacinth has also tered the ecological balance in the
banisation contributes to the exist- been a serious health threat to those lake and resulted in a massive loss
ence of “hot spots” of pollution, dependent on drawing drinking wa- of biodiversity.
where there is especially heavy deg- ter from the lake. Fishing and fish processing are
radation of the water quality in the Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya important economic activities in the
lake. Human waste, urban runoff, have made concerted efforts to com- lake basin, employing an estimated

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 ANDERS GUNNARTZ
The fast spreading water hyacinth is a threat both to health and to economic Mwanza, Tanzania.
activities in the lake region.

500,000 persons. Industrial, large- arable land. Trees are also cut for dress aspects of the development
scale fishing methods linked to over- firewood and charcoal production. challenges of the lake basin.
seas exports of fillets have led to mas- Already, an estimated 90 per cent of There are, at present, up to a
sive over-fishing. This has put great the original forest cover has been lost hundred institutions, projects and
strain on the local fishing industry to settlement or cultivation. All of organisations with mandates related
and resulted in growing unemploy- these activities contribute to in- to the use and management of the
ment among the fishing population creased soil erosion, resulting in the basin’s resources. However, no effi-
in the region. The consumption of loss of agricultural production and cient mechanism for coordination
protein in the riparian communities an increased eutrophication (inputs and exchange of information be-
is also negatively affected. of mainly nitrogen and phosphor). tween the actors exists so far. The
The population density is among East African Community (EAC) is
High Level of Poverty the highest in the world for rural ar- however mandated to take up this
Despite the rich natural resources eas. Life expectancy in the region function and is expected with in-
of the lake and its environment, has decreased considerably over the creased capacity to increasingly face
approximately half of the basin’s last 10–20 years. The mortality rate this challenge.
total population of 40 million peo- for diseases such as cholera/diar- National institutions from each
ple live below the poverty line. rhoea, malaria, and tuberculosisis is country are important players in
With the ongoing environmental alarmingly high. The social sectors various aspects of the lake environ-
degradation there follows rising have seen many years of decline due ment. A recent survey identified 28
levels of poverty. to financial and structural prob- ministries and agencies in Kenya,
Smallholder farmers in the basin lems. The high incidence of HIV/ Tanzania and Uganda with major
are forced to engage in increasingly AIDS adds new and dramatic di- responsibilities and activities. Local
desperate and unsustainable uses of mensions to the situation. authorities have important roles to
natural resources. This includes cul- play, as well.
tivating marginal and fragile areas Actors and Ongoing Programmes Civil society organisations,
such as wetlands, as well as the clear- A number of initiatives have been which include NGOs, business enter-
ing of vital forests to open up new taken over the last few years to ad- prises and associations, and tourist

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 “Our engagement in the Lake Victoria area will be one of the most

important challenges for Sida during the coming 20 years.”

VICTOR BROTT

BO GÖRANSSON
Director General of Sida
Terrassing around the lake to avoide erosion.

organisations are key players in the ied ecosystem that is inherently sta- A Comprehensive
development efforts. Their motiva- ble and that can support, in a sustain- East African Initiative
tion is often strong, as their activities able way, the many human activities Under the East African Develop-
and livelihoods are directly linked to in the catchment area and in the lake ment Strategy the Lake Victoria ba-
the status of the lake and its envi- itself. A second phase of the project sin has been designated as an area of
ronment. is under preparation, changing both common economic interest and as
An important regional institu- its planned duration from five to fif- an economic growth zone to be de-
tion in place is the Lake Victoria teen years, and its scope from mainly veloped jointly by the partner states.
Fisheries Organisation (LVFO), es- addressing problems in the lake to The EAC initiatives on Lake
tablished in 1994 to oversee man- also emphasising the developing of Victoria so far include inland water
agement of fisheries resources on a the land surrounding it and its popu- transport, Lake Victoria ports, and
sustainable basis. lation. a regional strategy and action plan
The Lake Victoria Fisheries Re- The World Bank-sponsored Nile for the control of water hyacinths
search Project, sponsored by the Eu- Basin Initiative (NBI) has established and other invasive weeds.
ropean Union and the Lake Victoria co-operation between the ten Nile In 1998, the Secretariat of EAC,
Environment Management Project Basin countries focusing on equita- in collaboration with Sida, con-
(LVEMP), supported by the World ble use of water resources in the vened a high-level seminar in
Bank, the Global Environmental Fa- Nile. The initiative includes the es- Arusha (Tanzania) on sustainable
cility and Norway, are examples of tablishment of subsidiary action development in the Lake Victoria
important donor-sponsored East Af- plans for sub-basins of the Nile. The basin. The participants in the semi-
rican programmes in the lake basin. White Nile and Lake Victoria form nar agreed upon the need for a co-
LVEMP is an environmental the area for one such action plan – ordinated approach to foster sus-
project with emphasis on a compre- the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidi- tainable development in the lake ba-
hensive approach to the manage- ary Action Programme (NELSAP). A sin area. Many of the issues that
ment of the lake’s ecosystem. The number of donors, including Swe- had been proposed to be addressed
fundamental objective of the project den, support the NBI and NELSAP were found to be cross-sectoral and
is to restore the lake to a healthy, var- programmes. transnational.

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VICTOR BROTT

The goal: sustainable development that benefits the people in the lake basin.

In mid-1999 the East African coun- On 24 April 2001 a Partnership – The partnership will focus on set-
tries, through EAC, decided to estab- Agreement was signed at Arusha by ting priorities and creating good
lish a comprehensive programme – EAC representing itself and the mem- conditions for development inter-
the Lake Victoria Development ber states on the one hand and the ventions as well as for commer-
Programme (LVDP) – aimed at pro- donor community, led by Sweden on cial investments, and encourage
moting sustainable development in the other. The agreement was signed and facilitate constructive long-
the Lake Victoria basin. A Commit- in the presence by the three Heads of term donor involvement
tee on the Lake Victoria Develop- State. The other signatories were – Specific investment and capacity
ment Programme (CLVDP) was es- Norway, France, the World Bank and building programmes will nor-
tablished under the EAC structure. It East African Development Bank. mally not be undertaken by the
is composed of the Permanent Sec- The strategic partnership con- strategic partnership, but be left
retaries from the partner states, who cept builds on the realization that to specialized institutions, au-
are responsible for lake basin issues. substantial donor support will be re- thorities or associations at re-
A process was also initiated to quired to assist East Africa to ex- gional, national or local levels.
search for a regional mechanism for ploit the opportunities and address
the management of the lake and its the existing problems in the region. Vision and Strategy
resources. The concept, which is inclusive and Under the leadership of EAC a
process-oriented, has as a further broad-based vision for the Lake Vic-
The Strategic Partnership starting point the conviction that re- toria region is being established.
The process, initiated 1998 soon search, capacity building, and sup- The process, facilitated by a team of
took as its aim to establish a broad port for institutional change will international experts, is highly par-
programme for the sustainable de- need to go hand in hand with, or ticipatory, allowing stakeholders
velopment of the Lake Victoria ba- precede investments. and the local population living
sin. In early 2000, the idea of estab- – The goal for the partnership is to around the lake to voice their opin-
lishing a strategic partnership be- contribute to equitable and sus- ions on what solutions should be
tween EAC, its member states and the tainable development that ben- found to address the poverty of the
donor community was developed. efits the people in the lake basin region and the sustainable develop-

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“The Lake Victoria programme includes a number of exciting challenges. One is to build a genuine strategic

partnership with the East African countries through the East African Community. Another is to broaden the

Partnership to include new international partners. A third one is to successfully harness the various resources,

which exist in the Swedish society and at Sida to support a comprehensive approach to sustainable development.

What more, our vision goes beyond the traditional time span for development programmes and extends over a

period of twenty years.”

LARS EKENGREN
Director
Lake Victoria Directorate, Sida

ment of the basin. NGOs, cultural Plan. New Action Plans will be de- the establishment of coordinat-
organisations, advocacy groups, veloped every third year. ing mechanisms
church communities etc will partici- One of the cornerstones for – Support to capacity building, to
pate in the discussions. The vision Sweden’s involvement is the experi- studies of various kinds, and to
development project is expected to ence acquired from 30 years of de- developing action and invest-
be followed up by the preparation velopment co-operation with the ment plans
of a comprehensive strategy. three riparian countries: Kenya, – Specific regional level activities
Tanzania and Uganda. The other such as: building and strengthen-
The Swedish Commitment entry point is Sweden’s successful ing networks between relevant ac-
Sweden’s interest in providing broad co-operation with its neighbours tors, developing capacity through
and long-term support for East Afri- in combating the environmental the strengthening of institutions
ca’s development efforts in the Lake threat to the Baltic Sea and pro- and research, mapping pollution
Victoria basin is motivated by the moting sustainable development in sources and unsustainable uses of
increasing poverty in the area and that region. natural resources, and setting pri-
by the alarming, ongoing environ- orities for investments
mental degradation. The commit- Modalities of Swedish Support – Facilitation of the creation of
ment is also based on recognition of Sweden has committed itself to a networks, which will support or
the area’s potential for economic process, rather than to specific sec- complement the international
growth based on the sustainable use tors or projects. The gradual out- partnership, between actors and
of its rich natural resources. come of the process will determine institutions in areas such as local
In late 1999, the Swedish long- the focus for specific interventions communities, community-based
term commitment was conceptual- over time. Swedish contributions organisations and NGOs, private
ised in the “Strategy for Support of are foreseen to be directed towards: sector institutions and universities
Sustainable Development in the – Support of processes on political and other research institutions
Lake Victoria Region,” passed by decisions setting regional goals – Activities prioritised on the re-
the Swedish government in March and policies, harmonizing laws gional level, but implemented na-
2000 and by a three year Action and regulations, and facilitating tionally or locally, aimed at pro-

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VICTOR BROTT

moting sustainable development Tools To Be Applied human rights, culture, country pro-
(economic, social and environ- Sida stands ready to apply a variety of grammes, concessionary credits, as well
mental) in the Lake Victoria ba- methods and financial instruments to as funds for business development.
sin. Such efforts will include ex- support East Africa’s development ef- Funds available to Sida for devel-
panding and refocusing relevant forts in the Lake Victoria region. opment co-operation with Africa are
ongoing Swedish-supported pro- Sida is supporting the linking of likely to increase substantially over
grammes at both national and lo- actors in the Lake Victoria region the next few years. Regional co-op-
cal levels. In addition, a number with those in the Baltic Sea. “Twin- eration will be given high priority
of new programmes are expected ning” or partnerships between insti- when allocating such additional
to be established in collaboration tutions, networks, municipalities funds within the Sida budget. Lake
with local and international part- and organisations in the two regions Victoria is expected to feature promi-
ners are encouraged. nently in this context.
– The active involvement of civil so- Sweden’s relationships with de-
ciety organisations in the lake basin velopment banks, UN organisations, Areas of Intervention
area is crucial in combating pov- the EU and other international or- The following possible areas of inter-
erty. Support by Sida to such or- ganisations, such as the International vention have been identified:
ganisations will grow. A few Swed- Union for Conservation of Nature – Sustainable urban development,
ish non-government actors, nota- (IUCN), will be exploited. The pur- which includes support to the Lake
bly Vi Agroforestry, are already ac- pose would be to create a synergy be- Victoria Region Local Authorities
tive in relevant programmes in the tween development efforts and to get Co-operation (LVRLAC) and to the
lake region. The possibility to ex- additional resources to the Lake Vic- cities of Kampala (Uganda),
pand such programmes is being toria development process. Kisumu (Kenya) and Musoma or
explored. Other Swedish NGOs Several financial instruments are Mwanza (Tanzania)
will be encouraged to take up new available within Sida to support Lake – Rural water, sanitation and health
activities in the basin within their Victoria development efforts. These – Land management, including
respective fields of competence include funds for regional co-opera- support to Regional Land Man-
and interest. tion, environment, democracy and agement Unit’s activities in the

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 Relation to country programmes
Sweden through Sida has established country programmes in all the
three East African countries. The programmes include a number of
projects and activities, which are geographically situated in or affect the
Lake Victoria region. A concerted effort to ”tilt” the programmes to-
wards the lake is being made, whereby in the selection of districts etc
for Swedish support, priority is afforded to those in the lake region.

Uganda
In Uganda the Lake Victoria basin includes Kampala, the
capital, as well as other major cities: Entebbe, Jinja and
Masaka. The issue of ”tilting” towards Lake Victoria is not
as much in focus as the most developed areas lie within
the basin. The country strategy 2001–2005 therefore
rather gives emphasis to efforts to reach out towards
the northern and poorest part of the country.

Tanzania
Sweden has for many years been
involved in the Lake Victoria region
in Tanzania through a health,
water, and sanitation programme
(HESAWA), and through various NGO
activities. Another bilateral interven-
tion has been the Land Management
Programme (LAMP). In the new
country programme 2001–2005 the
most successful practices from Kenya
HESAWA and LAMP will be incorpo- The country programme for Kenya 1999–2003 includes suppport to
rated into a new District Develop- programmes for rural health, soil and water conservation, water and
ment programme that focuses on sanitation in rural areas, and rural roads. Certain activities under those
three districts within the Lake programmes, for instance in rural health, have already been focused on
Victoria basin. districts in the Lake Victoria basin.

three countries and to the pro- – HIV/AIDS, in particular trans- – Information and media, where a
grammes of the Swedish NGO boundary spreading of the pan- long term support to environ-
Vi Agroforestry demic mental journalism through train-
– Water resources management, in- – Democratic governance, where ing and capacity building is an
cluding support to the develop- the possibilities to assist in the initial example
ment of frameworks for the co- building of capacity within the – Communication, infrastructure
operative water management of newly established East African and IT, including support to an
three main tributaries to Lake Court of Justice and the East Af- initiative to further link the
Victoria: Kagera river basin, rican Legislative Assembly are power transmission systems in
Mara river basin and the being studied the three countries together
Malakasi-Malaba-Sio river basin – Higher Education and Re- – Development of East African
– Business sector development, in- search through a programme Civil Society Organisations, ini-
cluding the possible partnership of support to thematic research tially through a capacity build-
between the Industrial Council on issues related to the sustain- ing of Ecovic, the only NGO
of Sweden and East African able development of the lake which operates in all the three
Business Council basin countries.

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BA LT I C S E A E X P E R I E N C E

A point of departure for the Swed- mental Action Program (JPC), was Both the JPC and the Baltic 21 are
ish initiative to support sustainable adopted in 1992. based on strong political commit-
development in the Lake Victoria The JPC programme includes ments. The experiences demonstrate
region was the experience from the activities related to institutional that success can be achieved through:
successful co-operation established strengthening, human resource de- – Strong and sustained commitment
in the Baltic Sea region. In spite of velopment, investment activities, re- from the highest political levels
obvious differences between the search, and education and aware- – Building on existing political and
two regions, several principles and ness raising. In addition, 132 major other structures
important lessons from the Baltic sources of pollution, so called “hot – Involving all major stakeholders
Sea experience emerged. Possibili- spots,” were identified and included early on in the process
ties to apply some of these in the in the investment part of the pro- – Allowing for an open, demo-
Lake Victoria region are being ex- gramme. cratic and transparent process
plored. The implementation has been – Establishing joint priority actions
The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed very successful. Major investments benefiting all countries
sea, with a unique and sensitive eco- supported by donors and financing – Readiness between the countries
system. Almost 80 million people institutions have been directed to- to support each other through
live in its drainage area, which is a wards municipal wastewater treat- various stages of the process
highly industrialized and intensively ment plants and fresh-water-sup- – Creating public awareness about
farmed region. plies. the state of the environment and
Already in the early 1970s it The JPC progress laid the foun- its relationship to economic de-
was obvious that the body of water dation for broader and deeper co- velopment.
was in a bad state. When political operation in the region, including
changes occurred in the region in democratic and economic develop- Baltic Sea Experiences Support
the early 1990s, a successful and ef- ment. Moreover, an environmental Lake Victoria Development
ficient regional co-operation was action programme, the Agenda 21 In 1999, a high level delegation from
established. As a result, the Baltic for the Baltic Sea (the Baltic 21), has East Africa visited the Baltic Sea re-
Sea Joint Comprehensive Environ- been established. gion. The participants concluded

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“The regional co-operation on the Baltic Sea, being one of the most suc-

cessful regional co-operation arrangements on a heavily used sea, is a

useful example from which the co-operation we are developing on the

Lake Victoria can borrow experience.”

FRANCIS K . MUTHAURA
The first Secretary General of EAC

that several principles and impor- (LVRLAC). Visits have been ex- anisms with the business com-
tant lessons from the Baltic Sea col- changed between senior repre- munity, within education, envi-
laboration could be applied to the sentatives of various Baltic cities ronment, sports, culture, tour-
Lake Victoria region. They ex- (notably Kalmar and Gdansk) ism, urban planning, waste man-
pressed specific interest in develop- and senior representatives of agement, etc. These experiences
ing networks between similar insti- the Lake Victoria principal cit- may prove useful to the UBC-
tutions and organizations in the ies (notably Entebbe), seminars, LVRAC co-operation.
Lake Victoria region, and to linking workshops and conferences have – A collaboration has been initi-
them with sister networks in the Bal- been organised, all with the view ated between the Baltic Univer-
tic Sea region. to transferring experience and sity Programme and the Inter-
The visit was followed by a build capacity. In the Baltic Sea University Council of East Af-
workshop, which gave participants area the UBC has established a rica, which includes exchanges
the opportunity to exchange infor- number of co-operating mech- of experiences and visits.
mation on various initiatives and in-
stitutional arrangements being de-
veloped in the two regions, and to
look at opportunities for co-opera-
tion. Subsequent to this, co-opera-
tion and partnership have been ini-
tiated in a number of areas, includ-
ing
– City to city co-operation where
the Union of Baltic Cities (UBC)
has signed a three year agree-
ment with its East African coun-
terpart, Lake Victoria Region
Local Authorities Co-operation

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SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
COOPERATION AGENCY
SE-105 25 Stockholm · Sweden
Tel: +46 (0)8-698 50 00 · Fax: +46 (0)8-20 88 64
www.sida.se

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