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E.A. countries to blame for Lake Victoria’s woes
2006-06-05 10:30:25
By Emmanuel Kihaule
The world’s second largest fresh water body, Lake Victoria, has seriously become a victim of environmental degradation. Leaders of nations in the region should have shown a marching concern. However, that does not seem to be the case.
Should the lake dry up, the consequences for their peoples would be very grave. Emmanuel Kihaule writing for JET from Kampala, reminds them of the pending horror as the world celebrates its Environment Day.
Leaders of the East African countries around Lake Victoria should be having sleepless nights as the Lake, their people’s chief source of livelihood, is threatened with decline.
Their main preoccupation should be how to save the continent’s biggest water body from extinction.
The leaders cannot afford to ignore the lake’s state because about one third of the population in the region (30 million people) relies on Lake Victoria for their livelihoods in terms of fishing, agriculture, transport, tourism and industries.
There are so many initiatives by the three governments of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania with support from donors in the name of saving the lake, which is the second largest in the world after Lake Superior in North America.
However, if one keenly observes what is taking place on the ground, it is obvious that much is still to be desired if we really care about saving Lake Victoria at all.
Deforestation in the lake’s catchment and encroachment by people upon wetlands around its shores are posing a serious threat.
No wonder the lake’s water level has remain alarmingly low despite the recent rains.
In Uganda, for instance, hardly a week or two pass by without reports in the media of forests and wetlands encroachment, prompting bitter a question about the country’s commitment in saving the water body.
The country is, likewise, alleged to have played a big role in causing the shrinkage of water level in the lake, following the construction of the disputed Kiira dam alongside Nalubaale dam across Nile River in Jinja.
Some experts had earlier warned that the construction of a parallel dam across the Nile River would result in letting out more water from the lake.
They also warned that the new dam was not going to produce power as anticipated because the amount of water from the constructed channel would not be powerful enough to turn the turbines.
But the government went on with its plans. As a result the water levels in the lake has gone down by about 2 meters.
Most unfortunate is the fact that in spite of the construction of the new dam, Uganda is still facing the spectre of load shedding, taking place all round the clock.
On its Kenyan and Tanzanian sides Lake Victoria is taking a beating as well.
The towns of Kisumu in Kenya and Mwanza in Tanzania are known for their contribution in polluting the lake.
Raw waste from industries, households, car washing bays and poor sewage systems finds its way to the lake, reducing considerably the quality of the Lake’s water.
But pollution by these urban centres represent just a fraction of the harm that towns by the Lake are inflicting upon the Lake.
The fact that people draw the Lake’s water for their domestic use hurts.
What an ideal environment for spreading waterborne diseases!
Reports on illegal fishing have also become common. Fishermen use poison and small fishing nets that catch too small fish.
There are also reports of decline in fish catch by fishermen due to unsustainable manner of utilising the lake resources.
Commercial fishing mainly for European markets earn the three countries a lot of forex.
However, this has not been a blessing to many ordinary East Africans who depend on the lake for their livelihoods.
The price of fish has grown out of their reach, making them resort to feeding on Mgongo Wazi (fish skeletons that are left after all fillet has been taken out for the European markets).
As a result, lives of the communities along the shores of Lake Victoria deteriorate day by day.
In a bid to check the situation, some members of the East Africa Legislative Assembly recently called upon the three countries to join hands to rescue the lake.
They accused the three member states of laxity in salvaging Lake Victoria.
Major General Mugisha Muntu (Uganda) regretted that the trio were only fence-sitting when the regional economies bagged a whopping US$ 300/- from the lake annually.
’’If you have a cow that gives you milk, you should take care of it,’’ General Muntu said.
He explained that it was in bad test for the East African Community (EAC) to sit back and watch when various agencies globetrotted, scouting for donor funds to rescue Lake Victoria.
Another legislator, Shilla Kawamalla from Kenya expressed her fear whether the EAC partner states are really aware of the Lake Victoria’s problem.
Though it is quite vivid that human activities are the chief threat to lake Victoria’s existence, environmentalists take other natural factors such as drought as central to the lake’s life.
The chairman of the EAC Council of Ministers, John Koech attributed the drastic decline of water levels in the lake to the protracted drought that dogged the entire region.
However, he admitted that the problem also resulted from the Uganda government’s move to drain water from the Lake for hydro- power generation.
Nevertheless, Mr Koech said that the three EAC partner states were fully aware of the problems bedevilling the very survival of the lake. He had therefore approached various donors to fund respective remedy measures.
But how much money or expertise do we need to stop encroachment upon wetlands and forests in the lake’s water catchment areas?
It may be true that EAC countries cannot do all on their own protect Lake Victoria without support from donors, but it would be worthwhile for them to start immediately implement the remedial measures within their reach.
It’s also high time they came up with an agreement binding partner states on the use of the water resources from the lake or feeder rivers.
As things are, Lake Victoria’s existence is in the balance. If, however, it dies in the end, it won’t be the first lake to face the fate.
A good example is Lake Chad in West Africa, which, with a battering from the nature, is now almost reduced to a pond by human activities.
The lake’s original size was 10,000,000 square miles (25,000 square kilometres) in 1960s has declined to 839 square miles (1,350) today.
Disappearance of Lake Victoria will cost dearly the East African community and further beyond.
Already the region’s people are paying the price of their irresponsible environmental care in load shedding, a fight with water hyacinth and a dramatic decrease of fish catch. There are many prices.
The worst, however, is yet to come should the region’s people continue with their irresponsible stance towards Lake Victoria.
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