Chalamila: Preserve biodiversity of Lake Victoria

KAGERA Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Albert Chalamila, has appealed to residents in the Lake regions of Mwanza, Kagera, Geita and Mara to preserve water resources and biodiversity of Lake Victoria.

Equally, he urged Tanzanians to take swift action on conservation of the wetland areas.

He explained that joint efforts were  needed, with recent studies indicating that the second  largest fresh water body in the world, bordering  five countries and serving over 40 million people, has been heavily polluted and is facing numerous threats as a result of human activities  contaminating its life.

Lake Victoria is the world’s second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after Lake Superior in North America.

“We are witnesses to some dried up water bodies, algae blooms and water hyacinths growing at an alarming rate. The issue of biodiversity leading to 76 per cent of fresh water species in the basin face extinction and that is enough to indicate the seriousness of the problem,” he said.

He listed chemical fertilisers being washed to the   lake and soil sedimentation, which in the process pollute and suffocate aquatic organisms as among sources of pollution.

Experts say human activities which include intensive mechanised agriculture normally discharge chemicals into the water body and end up threatening lives of the aquatic organisms.

Lake Victoria covers a surface area of about 68,800 sq.km shared by Uganda (45 per cent), Tanzania (49 percent) and Kenya (6 percent).

The lake is home to more than 400 species of fish, and it remains a major source of livelihood for over 40 million people who live around it.

With a rising population around the lake, new hurdles have emerged, including waste management, wetland degradation, overfishing and the spread of aquatic weed.

Experts propose strict controls on pollution to prevent the decline in the water quality and to reduce   the risk of harmful algae blooms and floating aquatic weeds.

The Lake Victoria fishery contributes immensely to the socio-economic development of the riparian states. The East African Community (EAC) has designated the lake basin as an ‘economic growth zone’, with the potential to develop into a major economic region.

The fisheries are vital in creating employment opportunities, mostly rural-based, thereby helping to reduce rural-urban migration. Fish is also a rich source of animal protein for human consumption and provides raw material (fish-meal) for processing animal feeds.

The fish industry contributes to the GDP and has continued to be an important source of foreign exchange earned from fish exports. Besides, the fish industry contributes to the national and local government revenues through levying of various taxes, levies and license fees.