Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II

(LVEMP II)

PROJECT DETAILS

 

Project Description

The Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II (also known as LVEMP II) is an East African Community project under implementation in the five countries that share the Lake Victoria Basin: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

It is a transboundary project designed to achieve two development/global environmental objectives. Firstly, the project is meant to improve collaborative management of transboundary natural resources of Lake Victoria Basin and, secondly, reduce environmental stress in the targeted pollution hotspots and selected degraded sub-catchments as a means of improving the livelihoods of communities who depend on the natural resources of the Basin.

Project Components

The project comprises four main components: (i) strengthening institutional capacity for managing shared water and fisheries resources; (ii) point source pollution control and prevention; (iii) watershed management; and (iv) project coordination and management.

Component 1: Strengthening institutional capacity for managing shared water and fisheries resources

This component focuses on strengthening the existing institutions to improve the cooperative management of shared transboundary natural resources of the Lake Victoria Basin. The component finances the capacity building programmes of the regional, national, and local institutions for coordination, research, management of resources, and enforcement of environmental standards. These include the Lake Victoria Basin Commission and the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation at the regional level; the national authorities/offices, fisheries, and environmental management institutions; local government authorities, and community-level organisations, such as Beach Management Units.

Component 2: Point Source pollution control and prevention

This component focuses on reducing environmental stresses within the Lake and its littoral zone, through the implementation of mitigation and prevention measures. The component finances investments aimed at reducing point sources of pollution in priority hotspots, through three sub-components: (i) Rehabilitation and improvement of wastewater treatment facilities; (ii) Promotion of cleaner production technologies; and (iii) Pollution risk management and safety of navigation.

The sub-component on rehabilitation and improvement of wastewater treatment facilities aims at reducing point source pollution from municipal waste by supporting public investments like the rehabilitation and improvement of selected wastewater facilities in order to reduce untreated effluents in the Lake; connecting primary treated effluent discharge to constructed or restored wetlands; and providing on-site sanitation facilities. These interventions will lead to reduced amount of untreated wastewater discharged into the Lake by targeted lakeshore cities, towns and communities.

The sub-component on promotion of cleaner production technologies aims at reducing industrial pollution by promoting on-site pre-treatment of factories’ waste and efficiency in raw material utilisation through sorting, reuse, and recycling activities. These interventions will lead to increased adoption of cleaner production technologies by targeted industries.

The sub-component on pollution risk management and safety of navigation is contributing to the prevention of marine vessel accidents, which could be a major source of pollution and to the improvement of safety of navigation for both cargo and passenger ferries and fishing vessels.

Component 3: Watershed management

This component focuses on the reduction of environmental stresses – like sediment loads, nutrients, and agro-chemicals – from the Lake Basin through the implementation of non-point sources pollution mitigation and prevention measures. It is supporting community-driven investments in rehabilitating three priority degraded sub-catchments of Lake Victoria. These include catchments of rivers Simiyu in Tanzania; Nyando in Kenya; and Katonga in Uganda. This component has got two sub-components: (i) Natural resources conservation and livelihoods improvement; and (ii) Community capacity building and participation.

The sub-component on natural resources conservation and livelihoods improvement is providing grants to communities in order to promote local partnerships in addressing degradation of the watershed. This sub-component is expected to increase sustainable land management and natural resource conservation practices by participating communities in targeted sub-catchments.

The sub-component on community capacity building and participation is mobilising communities and building their capacity in the preparation and implementation of CDD-type subprojects in watershed management. It is also creating community awareness about the key environmental issues of the Lake Victoria Basin. This sub-component will enhance communities’ ability to plan, implement, and monitor watershed management interventions in targeted sub-catchments.

Component 4: Project coordination and management

The component focuses on effective coordination and communication as well as monitoring and evaluation of the project activities.