Protecting Lake Victoria starts with healthy wetlands and informed communities

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OPINION

By Olive Atuhaire

Early this month, media reports revealed increased distress among the lakeside communities due to rising pollution levels and the smell in Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater body and the world's second-largest tropical lake, is widely regarded as a lifeline for over 45 million people across East Africa, providing drinking water, fisheries, and hydropower.

Historically, Lake Victoria has been a rich and diverse ecosystem, supporting numerous fish species, plants, and wildlife. It has also played a vital role in sustaining livelihoods, water, food, transport, and economic opportunities for millions of people across East Africa. Over generations, communities around the lake have depended on its resources for fishing, agriculture, and domestic use.

However, despite its immense economic and ecological importance, Lake Victoria continues to face a deepening and multifaceted environmental crisis largely driven by human activities, including wetland encroachment for agriculture, settlement, industrialisation, and other unsustainable practices. This is caused largely by limited public awareness of wetland importance.

Wetlands act as the "kidneys" of the lakes, including Lake Victoria, whereby they filter pollutants, trap nutrients before they enter the lake, and provide natural buffers against floods. However, the widespread destruction of these ecosystems has caused a significant increase in nutrient levels, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, which in turn fuels excessive algal growth, which releases gases such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia when they die and decompose, producing the foul odour currently affecting communities around Lake Victoria.

According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, the degradation of several wetlands around Lake Victoria, including the Kitubuli and Nakiwogo bays in Entebbe, and others like the Inner Murchison Bay near Luzira, and Napoleon Gulf in Jinja, that once served as natural filters for the lake, has contributed to the persistent foul smell emanating from parts of Lake Victoria, particularly around Kampala and Entebbe.

The government must actively sensitise and educate communities surrounding Lake Victoria about the vital role wetlands play in sustaining both human health and Lake Victoria’s ecological balance. By raising awareness of how wetlands filter pollutants, support fish populations, and prevent flooding, local communities can be encouraged to protect and restore these critical ecosystems.

Olive Atuhaire, Kampala