Officials from member countries of the lake Victoria Basin region have resolved to promote compliance to existing laws and regulations in order to realise the sustainable development in the Lake Victoria Basin.
The resolutions were confirmed during the 3rd Lake Victoria Basin Stakeholders Forum which took place at the Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel in Entebbe, Uganda.
Participants at the two-day meeting that concluded 29th June also commended the improvements in the coordination of sustainable development issues in the Basin, in line with the Kisumu Declaration of October 2009.
The stakeholders who participated in the Forum included Uganda’s 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs Rt. Hon. Eriya Kategaya, the Assistant Minister for EAC (Kenya), Hon. Peter Munya;
Also in attendence were senior government officials, representatives of EAC institutions, knowledge leaders from various universities, environmental management agencies, investment promotion agencies, members of civil society networks, development partners and the key players from the private sector.
Uganda Minister for EAC Affairs, Rt. Hon. Eriya Kategaya, told stakeholders that sustainability ought to remain the basis of mutual cooperation amongst institutions and agencies working in the Lake Victoria Basin.
“Let me make this clear: there is enough room for all of us to strive to work together in the Lake and its Basin. What we really need to do is to strive to work together on the basis of mutual trust and respect for the various institutional expertise, values and mandates,” Kategaya said.
The Executive Secretary, Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Dr. Canisius Kanangire, noted that the Commission had contributed to the harmonisation of coordinated actions in various ways.
Under the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II (LVEMP II), he said, LVBC had completed the strategy on proposed options for establishing the Lake Victoria Environmental Trust Fund; the Lake Victoria Basin Water Hyacinth Surveillance, Monitoring and Control strategy; and a Basin-Wide Strategy for Sustainable Land Management in the Lake Victoria Basin.
“I have no doubt that these strategies, when shared, understood and utilised, shall contribute to the environmental conservation and poverty eradication in the Lake Victoria Basin,” Dr. Kanangire said.
Dr. Kanangire thanked the Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperation (LVRLAC); the Nile Basin Discourse (NBD) and East African SusWatch Network for co-organising the Forum and encouraged all stakeholders to actively contribute to the realisation of the gathering’s resolutions.
The Lake Victoria Basin Stakeholders Forum is a biennial event organised by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission to share experiences on sustainable development issues in the Basin.
The 3rd Lake Victoria Basin Stakeholders Forum was held under the theme: “Enhancing Partnership for Sustainable Development”.
Participants had the opportunity to explore a diverse range of issues in four thematic areas, including: natural resources, environment and production systems; trade and investment; quality of life; and, knowledge management and information sharing in Lake Victoria Basin.
Leave a Reply