Lake Victoria faces growing environmental threats
MWANZA: ENVIRONMENTAL degradation of Lake Victoria, poor urban planning, pollution from industrial activities, inadequate transport infrastructure and challenges linked to marine transport have been identified as major threats affecting the Lake Victoria Basin.
Executive Secretary of the East African Community’s Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Dr Masinde Bwire, remarked this recently in Ilemela Municipality while presenting the 2025 State of the Lake Victoria Basin Report. Dr Bwire said urgent measures are needed to rescue Lake Victoria from increasing environmental threats that continue to affect the basin and livelihoods of millions who depend on it.
He explained that the report, the first since the establishment of the regional Lake Victoria Day celebrations in Mwanza Region, highlights the current state of the basin, opportunities available and major challenges facing the area.
According to the report, illegal fishing remains alarming due to continued use of poison, illegal fishing nets and unauthorised technologies in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.
Dr Bwire urged East African Community member states to intensify patrols and strengthen strategies aimed at combating illegal fishing activities in the lake. He also commended efforts by the governments of Tanzania and Uganda to address environmental pollution in Lake Victoria, although he noted that current measures remain insufficient.
“Citizens themselves must see the fight against illegal fishing as their own responsibility because the use of poison in fishing is dangerous to their health,” he said.
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Dr Bwire added that poison fishing has contributed to rising cases of diseases, including cancer, in the Lake Zone. According to him, such diseases were uncommon in the region during the 1960s, but hospitals in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda are now receiving large numbers of cancer patients from communities surrounding the lake.
He further noted that some fish species, including Nile perch and tilapia, have started disappearing due to environmental destruction and unsustainable fishing practices.
For his part, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Tanzania Director Amon Manyama said Lake Victoria remains a vital resource for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and must be protected for present and future generations.
Mr Manyama said UNDP continues supporting studies on pollution levels and solutions, while also promoting technologies to remove water hyacinth and recycle plastic waste into economically beneficial products for youths and women.
Uganda’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Environment, Alfred Okidi, said collective efforts among governments, development partners, the private sector and citizens are crucial to improving the environmental condition of Lake Victoria.
