Rwanda And Burundi To Join The Bid To Save Lake Victoria

Nov 11, 2002

THE Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Co-operation (LVRLAC) is to expand to include Rwanda and Burundi, in a bid to protect and conserve the waters and surrounding areas of Lake Victoria.

By Kiganda Ssonko
THE Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Co-operation (LVRLAC) is to expand to include Rwanda and Burundi, in a bid to protect and conserve the waters and surrounding areas of Lake Victoria.
Dr. Julius Odongo LVRLAC’s secretary general says the organisation took this decision because both Rwanda and Burundi partly share the waters of the lake.
“What these countries do in regard to their environment ultimately affects Lake Victoria and its surroundings,” he says.
Odongo says the protection of Lake Victoria does not necessarily have to be undertaken by only the countries that share it directly, but even those who link with its tributaries.
“During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, many bodies floated to Lake Victoria via River Kagera . This had an impact on the lake in terms of both health and the environment,”says Odongo.
Poor agricultural, industrial and social practices also affect the aquatic life and the people living on the lake shores.
The LVRLAC consists of 48 local authorities within the East African countries that share Lake Victoria. The organisation also includes districts and municipalities with geographical links to the lake.
Odongo says the membership of Rwanda and Burundi is to be endorsed next year after thorough discussions and agreement on the environmental conditionalities and benefits to the two countries.
Some of the objectives of LVRLAC include the sensitisation of local authorities on the correct utilisation of the lake waters and its resources.
The organisation also tackles issues such as poverty eradication.
Odongo says LVRLAC shares information with its members on both environmentally friendly resource exploitation and environmentally abusive actions, such as pollution.
The LVRLAC also serves to strengthen regional understanding and solidarity as well as fisheries management.
Today, LVRLAC jointly fights for the protection of Lake Victoria and its surroundings, together with the governmental established Lake Victoria Environmental Management Programme (LVEMP).
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