Project Background
Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase Two (LVEMP II) is an 8 years (2009 - 2017) regional project implemented in the 5 East Africa Community partner states of the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. It is implemented in three phases referred to as Adjustable Program Lending (APL). Kenya is currently implementing the 1st phase of LVEMP II (APL1) and upon satisfactory implementation of this phase, it will qualify to implement APL 3. In Kenya, APL 1 will be implemented in Nyando River Basin and along the lake shore in the former Nyanza, Western and Rift Valley provinces.
Higher Development Objectives
The higher development objective of LVEMP II is to contribute to the EAC’s Vision and Strategy Framework for Management and Development of the Lake Victoria basin – “ a prosperous population living in a healthy and sustainably managed environment providing equitable opportunities and benefits” .
Specific Project Objectives
The Project specific development/global environmental objectives (PDO/GEO) of APL1 are to:
- Improve collaborative management of the trans-boundary natural resources of Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) for the shared benefits of the EAC Partner States; and
- Reduce environmental stress in targeted pollution hotspots and selected degraded sub-catchments to improve the livelihoods of communities, which depend on the natural resources of the Lake Victoria Basin.
Project Rationale
The project has been designed to address major environmental concerns in Lake Victoria Basin which have had adverse impact on the LVB ecosystem, as well as the region’s economy and livelihoods. These include
- Deteriorating water quality
- Increased sedimentation
- Increased pollution and eutrophication
- Declining lake levels
- Overexploited natural resources, including fisheries, wetlands and forests
- Resurgence of Water Hyacinth and other invasive weeds and
- Climate change
The project design is further cognizant of the contribution of natural resources to economic growth, and the strong nexus between their over-exploitation and poverty. The project contributes to broad-based poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods of people, by supporting sustainable management of shared natural resources of the Lake Victoria Basin, which many communities depend on.
To achieve this, the project supports among other interventions: (a) Institutional capacity building and harmonization of policy, legislations, and regulatory frameworks; (b) Community-Driven Development (CDD) subprojects investments in participatory watershed management; and (c) point sources pollution control and prevention. The combined effects of these interventions are expected to bring about improvement in livelihoods of participating communities while at the same time ensuring natural resources conservation and the integrity of LVB ecosystem.
