Environment for Development: An Ecosystems Assessment of Lake Victoria Basin Environmental and Socio-Economic Status, Trends and Human Vulnerabilities Editors: Eric O. Odada Daniel O. Olago Washington O. Ochola PAN-AFRICAN SECRETARIAT Environment for Development: An Ecosystems Assessment of Lake Victoria Basin Environmental and Socio-economic Status, Trends and Human Vulnerabilities Editors Eric O. Odada Daniel O. Olago Washington O. Ochola Copyright 2006 UNEP/PASS ISBN ######### Job No: This publication may be produced in whole or part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP and authors would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this report as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing of the United Nations Environmental Programme. Citation: Odada, E.O., Olago, D.O. and Ochola, W., Eds., 2006. Environment for Development: An Ecosystems Assessment of Lake Victoria Basin, UNEP/PASS Pan African START Secretariat (PASS), Department of Geology, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya Tel/Fax: +254 20 44477 40 E-mail: [email protected] http://pass.uonbi.ac.ke United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). P.O. Box 50552, Nairobi 00100, Kenya Tel: +254 2 623785 Fax: + 254 2 624309 Published by UNEP and PASS Cover photograph © S.O. Wandiga Designed by: Development and Communication Support Printed by: Development and Communication Support Disclaimers The contents of this volume do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNEP and PASS or contributory organizations. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP, PASS or contr butory organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authority, or concerning delineation of its frontiers or boundaries. Websites given in this volume were correct at the time of going to press. UNEP and PASS cannot be held responsible for any subsequent changes. We regret any errors or omissions that may unwittingly have been made. Table of Contents Foreword ...............................................................................................................................................iv Social and Policy Framework: Context of People and Livelihood: Kassim A.A. Kulindwa ....................2 Health, Diseases, and Nutrition in the Lake Victoria basin: D. M. Sabwa Karanja ...............................15 Freshwater related issues of Lake Victoria basin: T.K. Twongo and F.W.B. Bugenyi ...........................34 Land cover, land use change and related issues in the Lake Victoria basin: States, drivers, future trends and impacts on environment and human livelihoods: Washington O. Ochola ..........................50 Lake Victoria: will it support life tomorrow? A case for abatement of pollution and eutrophication of fresh waters: Shem O. Wandiga, Vincent O. Madadi, Bernard T. Kirimire and Michael Kishimba .......69 Aquatic biodiversity of Lake Victoria basin: Enock O. Wakwabi, John Balirwa and Micheni J. Ntiba .......87 Energy and Environment in the Lake Victoria basin: S. Arungu-Olende ............................................141 Natural disasters in Lake Victoria Basin (Kenya): Causes and impacts on environment and livelihoods: Alfred Pere, and Laban A. Ogallo .............................................................................154 Conflict over Transboundary Fishery on Lake Victoria and its Management: C.T. Kirema Mukasa, J.P. Owino, and L.K. West ................................................................................169 Legal and Institutional Aspects of Management of the Environment in Lake Victoria basin: C.O. Okidi ...........................................................................................................................................176 Valuation of Environmental Assets in the Lake Victoria basin: Kassim A.A. Kulindwa .......................205 Foreword In relation to the development of an Environment Outlook Report of the Lake Victoria basin, a stakeholder workshop on Lake Victoria was convened by the Pan African START Secretariat (PASS) in September 2004, through funding from UNEP-DEWA and START through the United States National Science Foundation / US Climate Change Science Program (USNSF/USCCSP). The stakeholder workshop brought together a team of experts from riparian countries of the lake basin region to discuss the issues and scope of the Lake Victoria Basin Environment Outlook Report, including reaching consensus on the structure of the Report, themes to be covered, emerging issues, outlook, experts to write various sections, content of the Report and policy options for action. The expert input was invaluable and sincere appreciation is extended to this group. The Report was collated by the Pan African START Secretariat (PASS) as an input into the Africa Environment Outlook (AEO) 2 and Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) 4 reports produced by UNEP Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA). This publication of technical papers on Lake Victoria, which have been written by some of the experts who were party to the Stakeholders Workshop in 2004, goes hand in hand with the Lake Victoria Environment Outlook Report 2006 as an information resource document. A whole array of issues are covered, including such aspects as: people and livelihoods, health and nutrition, water and land resources, land cover and land use change, freshwater pollution, aquatic biodiversity, energy and environment, natural disasters, fisheries, environmental assets, and legal and institutional frameworks in the lake basin. Each of the papers, while focussing on a particular aspect, tackle the relevant elements of these broad issues to varying degrees, offering, therefore, a richly spiced and integrated perspective of the environmental concerns within the lake basin. We would like to thank all the reviewers as they gave very useful comments on the manuscripts. Discussions on the social and policy dimensions of the Lake Victoria Basin centre on the inhabitants of the basin and their livelihood strategies, which are defined by environmental stewardship and natural resource utilization. The health of the basin’s inhabitants is related to the environment and to the people’s vulnerabilities and ability to cope with the diseases (such as malaria, cholera, bilharziasis, HIV/AIDS and other human and zoonotic ailments) and nutritional imbalances. The freshwater chapter identifies human socio-economic dependence on freshwater resources and their vulnerability, human and natural pressures on the freshwater resources, and relevant policy actions and institutional frameworks and mechanisms intended to alleviate freshwater degradation. The key land degradation issues, addressed using the pressures-states-impact-response (DPSIR) framework, include: escalating soil erosion, declining soil fertility, agro-chemical pollution, salinization and loss of land cover and their impacts on human and environmental security. An analysis of future scenarios of the Lake Victoria land resources and land use change is also presented based on plausible futures through long-term interactions between economic development and environment. The poor quality of Lake Victoria’s water and its deteriorating ecology is linked to the rapid riparian population growth and consequent livelihood activities associated with farming and urbanization. To help stem this tide there is need for more inclusive stakeholder involvement in the lake’s management and for establishment and implementation of policies that will address the water pollution concerns. The biological diversity of the lake and wetlands in the basin is known to be exceptional both in number of species and in their endemism. The paper on aquatic biodiversity presents an exhaustive analysis on the pertaining situation of the basic biodiversity in the Lake Victoria basin, and emphasises the need for more studies to ensure sustainability as a result of the ongoing natural resources exploitation. Energy needs in the lake basin are largely met through the use of land based resources and is key to facilitating the development of income generating opportunities, improving living standards, reducing poverty, and ensuring the protection of the environment. The link between the energy sector and the environment has also been related to the impact of energy development and use on environmental and human vulnerability. Droughts and floods are the most devastating natural hazards within the basin. The paper covering this topic v examines their social, economic and environmental consequences, human vulnerabilities, as well as opportunities for prevention, mitigation and management. The paper on conflicts over transboundary fisheries explains the reasons behind the conflicts as well as a long-term strategy being initiated to address them. It demonstrates that capacity building at the local level through the regional institutional framework on Lake Victoria is the best approach to address the challenges arising from a dynamic transboundary fishery. Legal and institutional frameworks are presented in four categories: namely: (1) recretoral or functional statutes; (2) cross-cutting laws; (3) Framework environmental law; and (4) regional instruments. The paper presents a case study of Kenya, from