1.            PREAMBLE

The LVFO is an inter-governmental Organization established through a Convention signed by the three Contracting Parties of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania on 30th June, 1994 in Kisumu, Kenya. The main objectives of the LVFO are; to foster co-operation amongst the Contracting Parties in matters regarding Lake Victoria, harmonize national measures for the sustainable utilization of the living resources of the Lake and develop and adopt conservation and management measures to assure the Lake’s ecosystem health and the sustainability of the living resources.

In order to fulfil its objectives the LVFO Secretariat needed information on Lake Victoria and therefore decided to hold an International Conference. The objectives of the Conference were, to gather as much information as possible on the research that has been done on Lake Victoria resources and environment, identify gaps in knowledge and decide the way forward for the management of the Lake’s  living resources.  Based on these simple objectives five Conference themes were identified as follows:

1.1            Multiple resource uses of the Lake Victoria basin and natural phenomena

Impact of human population, land use, livestock and industrialization on the aquatic environment. Status of limnology and water balance. Pollution, siltation and eutrophication of the lake and their effect on the water quality and fisheries. Use of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Satellite Imagery to monitor the lake environment and its catchment. Climate change and the aquatic environment.

1.2       Roles of science, economics and politics in fisheries management

Lake Victoria-River Nile agreements. The stakeholders in the fishing industry. The role of indigenous knowledge in fisheries management. Fishing communities and modernization. Good governance in the lake Victoria basin and political will to manage its resources. Harmonization and enforcement of fisheries laws/regulations. Fish processing and quality assurance.

1.3            Development of the fisheries sector

Fisheries potential of Lake Victoria. Riverine fisheries. Policy formulation. Access to the fishery. Regulation of fishing gears and methods. Contribution of aquaculture to the Lake Victoria basin fisheries production. Infrastructure development. Institutional and human resource capacity building. Credit facilities to fisher folk. Sustainability of the fisheries sector.

1.4       Roles of conservation in biodiversity and fisheries sustainability

Status of biodiversity in the Lake Victoria basin. The impact of invasive species. Conservation of genetic resources for aquaculture and other uses. Value of wetlands.

1.5            Integrated Lake basin management

Land-lake interaction processes. Coastal zone management. Deforestation, afforestation, rational land use practices. Role of communities in co-management. Concept of ownership of resources. Relationship between researchers, extension and fisher folk. The science plan for Lake Victoria beyond 2000.

Each theme had a keynote paper that was prepared by a group  of stakeholders and    was presented before the other papers in that theme during the Conference. The keynote paper authors together with other scientists discussed each theme in a pre-conference workshop and made  a set of  recommendations which were further refined and focussed during the Conference presentations, deliberations and discussions.  After the Workshop there were a set of recommendations specific for each theme. Later on general recommendations were drawn up for Lake Victoria, incorporating recommendations from the Workshop on People, Fisheries, Biodiversity and the future of Lake Victoria held in August, 17-20, 1992 in Jinja, Uganda.

2.   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2.1     Issues of concern for the Health of Lake Ecosystem

Concomitant with the shifts in fish stock structure and dynamics are changes in resource use and ecosystem health.  The major issues relating to these changes can be categorized into the following:

2.1.1   Contamination and toxic effects from industrial and urban development around the catchment (heavy metals especially mercury, persistent organochlorines, current use of pesticides);

2.1.2   Eutrophication (excess nutrient loading resulting in high algal populations and blooms which cause taste and odour problems, high water treatment costs, algal toxins, deoxygenation, associated pathogens and alteration in consumer food webs);

2.1.3   Deoxygenation of the lake bottom waters caused by excessive input of oxygen using materials;

2.1.4   Deforestation and resultant siltation (excessive turbidity and sedimentation);

2.1.5  Alteration of physical substratum causing loss of fish habitat;

2.1.6  Biological pollution (species introductions, modifying food webs and causing uncertainty about future resource base);

2.1.7  Loss of biodiversity (species and wetlands) in the lake region;

2.1.8  Over-exploitation of the fisheries (modifying food webs and causing uncertainty).

2.2            Institutional Framework

2.2.1 States should ensure that an appropriate policy, legal and institutional framework is adopted to achieve the sustainable and integrated use of Lake Victoria basin (LVB) resources, taking into account the needs of the communities, the fragility of the ecosystem and the finite nature of its natural resources.

2.2.2  States should ensure that representatives of all sectors (and stakeholders) are    consulted in the decision-making processes and involved in other activities related to planning, development and management of the Lake Victoria basin.

2.2.3  States should develop, as appropriate, institutional and legal frameworks in order to determine possible uses of resources and to govern access to them taking into account the rights (custodianship and proprietorship) of the Lake Victoria basin fishing communities and their customary practices to the extent compatible with sustainable development.

2.2.4  States should promote the establishment of procedures and mechanisms at the appropriate administrative level to settle conflicts, which arise within the fisheries sector and between them and other users within the Lake Victoria basin.

2.2.5  States should limit new fish processing plants and also pirate processing plants created prior to or in violation of licensing.

2.2.6  The commercial aquaculture potential of the region is high, but is very far from being achieved. It is recommended, however, that States should adopt a cautious approach to large scale aquaculture development because such initiatives can impact biodiversity through acceleration of sedimentation rates, the accrual of uneaten food increases eutrophication and antibiotics and antifouling compounds can lead to local toxic pollution. There are also risks of contamination and introductions of species and genetic varieties that are foreign to the lake. If commercial aquaculture is to be developed it should be based on local species only, e.g. Oreochromis niloticus and Clarias gariepinus. Mirror carp and other exotic species must be avoided.

2.2.7  Riparian States should offer members of communities’ opportunities for education and training sufficient to provide access to alternative means of employment, and/or material assistance in relocation.

2.2.8  States should preserve typical refugia areas through protected area status or as part of integrative co-management programs. A coherent plan for conservation and rehabilitation of the lake basin fish faunas should also be developed without delay on the following basis: 

•    Provisions for the setting up of reserves typifying the various habitats of the lake, its tributary rivers, associated wetlands and satellite lakes, after an appropriate inventory has been conducted;  

•    Human aspects of such reserves should be agreed through consultation with local groups; 

•    Formulation of strategies to reinforce conservation, financial and social value on the resources to be protected; 

•    Education programmes addressed to all levels of society aimed at clarifying the benefits from conservation and defining the processes needed to achieve it.

2.3     Policy Measures

2.3.1 States should promote the creation of public awareness of the need for protection and management of resources and participation in the management process by those affected.

2.3.2 States should promote the assessment of the respective value of the wetlands taking into account social, economic and cultural factors.

2.3.3 States should address the risks and uncertainties and adopt as a precautionary approach in setting policies for the management of the Lake Victoria  basin.

2.3.4 States should establish or promote the establishment of systems to monitor the Lake Victoria basin environment, as part of the management process, using social, economic, physical, chemical and biological criteria.

2.3.5    States should promote multidisciplinary research in support of management of Lake Victoria basin with respect to social, economic, legal, political, environmental, administrative, technical and biological criteria.

2.4     Regional Co-operation

2.4.1  States of the Lake Victoria basin should co-operate to facilitate sustainable use of its resources and conservation of bio-diversity (and its environment).

2.4.2  In the case of activities that may have an adverse effect upon the Lake Victoria basin environment, States should:

•    Provide timely information and, if possible, prior notification to potentially affected States;

•    Consult with those States as early as possible.

2.4.3 States should strengthen existing regional mechanisms (e.g. of East African Community (EAC), LVFO) in order to facilitate co-operation and co-ordination among agencies involved in the planning, development and management of the Lake Victoria basin.

2.4.4 The LVFO should be the lead organization, responsible for facilitating collaboration and co-operation with respect to the development and harmonization of activities affecting the Lake Victoria basin.

2.4.5  The LVFO will collaborate with stakeholders, relevant inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and financial institutions to promote the effective integration of management for Lake Victoria basin.

3.   SPECIFIC THEME RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1     Multiple Resource Use and Ecosystem Health of the Lake Victoria Basin

A program of focussed research is required to establish a baseline of conditions for the aquatic resources against which the efficacy of management action or inaction can be evaluated. This monitoring program could provide necessary data to quantify current fluxes of nutrients, contaminants and sediments into Lake Victoria. The main activities required are:

•  Watershed research into effects of land use practice on river water quality and modeling of the important processes to evaluate inputs into the lake and to evaluate expected outcomes of management interventions;

•      Wet and dry fall monitoring networks for nutrients and contaminants must be established so that the largest single water flux into Lake Victoria rainfall  can be evaluated for its loading characteristics.  A network is needed in order to pinpoint regional sources for atmospheric contamination;

•      Socio-economic constraints on effective erosion control must be determined and addressed through education and development programmes;

•      An effective integrated long term monitoring program must be established for the airshed, watershed and for the lake’s resources; lack of such programmes have led to the massive uncertainty faced by the stakeholders of the basin today;

•      A research programme should be established to evaluate the mode and effects of algal toxin production in Lake Victoria in which the phytoplankton are now dominated by species of cyanobacteria known to be toxic to vertebrates; this program should include a risk assessment of the threat.

3.1.1 Recommendations on management and policy issues

There is need to encourage:

o  A Population stabilization and control programme;

o  Effective land use and urban planning (especially in riparian zone);

o Widespread soil erosion control programmes;

o  Improve fertility of land through increased use of fertilizers (but this must be in combination with effective erosion control) as well as water and soil management at farm scale;

o Conservation of soil and water at the watershed scale especially wetland conservation;

o  Economic development to reduce dependence on small scale farming in marginal lands.

3.2      The Role of Sceince, Politics and Economics in Fisheries Management

3.2.1  Management of the Lake Victoria fishery should be elaborated within the framework of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and its ‘Five Principal Ps’ of:

•    Process;

•    Precaution;

•    Partnership;

•    Proprietorship;

•    Policing.

3.2.2  Management should be directed towards human ecosystem of multiple scales encompassing, for example:

•    The Lake Victoria basin;

•    Watersheds of tributary rivers;

•    Delineated wetlands;

•    Satellite lakes;

•    Protected areas;

•    Pilot landings;

•    Lake zones.

3.2.3            Encourage co-management by interest groups whose participation is facilitated and fostered inter alia, by the following:

•    Education and active learning;

•    Participatory research;

•    Development training in practical skills and techniques by and for each interest group.

3.2.4    The Lake Victoria basin  members of communities should be offered opportunities for education and training sufficient to provide access to alternative means of employment and/or material assistance in relocation.

3.2.5    States should identify areas where traditional environmental knowledge offers a basis for community participation in management.

3.2.6 Governments should identify the contributions of population growth and economic development to land use changes impacting the Lake Victoria ecosystem, and further to address these basic causes through population programmes (education and economic security for disadvantaged groups, family planning assistance) and through environmental regulation.

3.2.7    Partner States should implement and maintain systems of information collection concerning the economic, social, institutional, and cultural elements of the Lake Victoria fisheries, including changes in these elements over time. Socio-economic research capacity must be strengthened for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of these data.

3.2.8 Stakeholders need to understand the interactions between biological and physical factors with social and economic factors. All ecological and field biology research projects should include a socio-economic component.

3.2.9    States should give consideration of both biological-physical factors and economic-social factors. In most cases, the element that is immediately being managed is the human behavior. We recommend, therefore, that fisheries managers be trained in both biological-physical and economic-social dimensions of science.

3.2.10 Governments should address gender issues in all resource management projects.

3.2.11  Riparian countries should make comprehensive studies of the fisheries extension function in the three lacustrine countries with a view to identify barriers to the effective communication of relevant research to various user groups.

3.2.12 Countries must support additional research to assess the benefits and disadvantages of systems of tenure (e.g. individual or community quotas), custodianship, and proprietorship, with special attention to the public trust in natural resources.

3.2.13  States should support increased research and monitoring into the potential conflicts in the use of fisheries products (e.g. fish for food, fishmeal, foreign exchange generation). This research and monitoring should contribute directly to the formulation of intervening policy measures.

3.2.14 Government policy makers as well as resource users need to take this information into account in their decision-making.

3.3            Development of the Fisheries Sector in Lake Victoria

3.3.1 Current state of  the fishery

The Conference noted that Nile perch, Nile tilapia, and Rastrineobola argentea (mukene, omena, dagaa) stocks are showing diverse and widespread signs of growth over-fishing, particularly on the Eastern side of the lake. Although specific information vary from place to place within the lake, the institution of several key, general conservation measures is strongly urged. In addition, with processing plants now apparently preferring relatively smaller Nile perch for their fillets, fish are being caught hard at sizes that are dangerously close to the minimum size at sexual maturity, which is itself much smaller than the ideal size for maximized productivity of the Nile perch population.

3.3.2   Growth of the regional database

3.3.2.1 States and the Development Partners should support the establishment of a regional database.

3.3.2.2 Member countries of Lake Victoria should support stock assessment of indigenous species, food web analysis and life history studies.

3.3.2.3          Governments should promote and encourage an overall investment strategy in fisheries research and monitoring if the fishery is to be sustainable.

3.3.3      Limit to processing capacity

3.3.3.1    States should control and limit the fish processing capacity.

3.3.4          Private Sector involvement in conservation

3.3.4.1          Riparian Governments should foster collaboration between the fisheries community and the exporter companies in order to enhance surveillance

              and compliance.

3.3.5          Sustainability

3.3.5.1    States should support and strengthen sustainable exploitation of the fishery resources, avoid over-capitalization of the industry and depletion of stocks.

3.3.6          Sharing the big picture

3.3.6.1    The LVFO, in collaboration with Governments should institute regular  regional harmonization meetings for both the scientists and the policy makers to enhance the socio-economic benefits of fishers.

3.3.7          Aquaculture

3.3.7.1    States should promote and encourage commercial aquaculture of Oreochromis niloticus, Clarias gariepinus by community or co-operative fish farms, mini-dams, and kitchen ponds (as appropriate and desirable).

3.3.7.2          Governments should discourage the culture of mirror carp and other exotic species (aside from O. niloticus) in open lake cage culture and satellite lakes.

3.3.8          Conservation of indigenous food fishes

3.3.8.1    Riparian countries should conserve indigenous riverine and satellite lake food fishes and support programmes aimed at learning how to better culture and conserve these species.  These programmes must be greatly accelerated  before it is too late and such species have been lost.

3.3.9          Management Zoning

3.3.9.1    A zoning system for the management of human activities in the lake and lake basin as a whole be instituted.

3.3.10    Fish Quality

3.3.10.1   Fish assurance quality control and training be built around a programme exploiting eco-labeling and a fair trade association.

3.4        Role of Conservation in Biodiversity and Fisheries Sustainability

3.4.1           Conservation of biodiversity in the Lake Victoria basin

One of the major moral dilemmas of today concerns its use of natural resources.  On the one hand there is the need to satisfy the nutritional requirements of a growing human population.  On the other there is the need to conserve existing genetic, specific, and ecosystem biodiversity for future generations.  These two imperatives are frequently in conflict because the maximization of human societal needs for food, goods, and infrastructure involves the disruption of existing habitats and living aquatic communities.  Efforts to resolve this conflict have been encouraged in a number of international forums including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

3.4.2              Planning

It was stressed by the Conference that any project to protect or restore the biodiversity of the lake should form part of the integral lake plan.  Such plans are necessary so that national priorities can be developed at high political level on the basis of which funds can be located and legislation drafted.  It should also be included in the national biodiversity planning which is part of the national obligation under the CBD. Additional support can also be sought through the major wetland conventions such as RAMSAR.  The influence of upstream activities is particularly important in the case of rivers and riverine wetlands and also for the main lake, as it is a major source for eutrophication and the related decrease in water transparency and dissolved oxygen concentration.  Conservation Reserves in such environments are only effective if they are formally included in general plans for the basin as a whole.  It is suggested that the development of an overall policy for biodiversity conservation is of high priority.  The policy should be incorporated into more generalized planning for the conservation and management of the natural resources of the lake and its basin.

3.4.3            Protection of environmental quality

The conference acknowledged the fact that any attempt to conserve biodiversity in the lake can only be pursued if the environmental quality is at a satisfactory standard.  Such efforts should include the maintenance of water quality in the lake, its tributaries and associated wetlands and measures to reverse the trend of increasing eutrophication.  Adequate and timely flows are needed for the completion of the life cycle of many species of migratory fishes in the tributary rivers.  Adequate water quantity is also needed for the protection of wetlands, and efforts to drain such areas for agricultural and urban use should be resisted.  Forested buffer strips will also be important in the maintenance and improvement of water quality (e.g., increased water clarity).  The impact of other users of the aquatic resources on fish assemblages reinforces the principle that any conservation policies must be integrated into the wider planning of all activities at basin level.

3.4.4            Control of  the fishery

The Conference noted that there is no doubt that, apart from the Nile perch episode, fishing has exerted a major effect on the magnitude and composition of the fish stocks.  Furthermore, because of the well-documented losses in biodiversity that occur in multi-species fisheries with increasing fishing pressure the best conservation strategy should be linked to rational control of fishing effort in order to prevent the serial collapse of stocks that characterized the past history of the fishery.

3.4.5            Protected area management of maintenance of faunal refugia

The Conference recognized two types of biodiversity banks:  refugia within the lake and refugia outside the lake.  Efforts should be directed toward the maintenance of these biodiversity banks. Many of these refugia are also critical habitats for economically important fish (e.g., wetland ecotones are important nursery areas for the Nile tilapia; rocky shores are important refugia for Labeo victorianus, Bagrus docmak, and Oreochromis variabilis) and thus could serve a dual role as a conservation area and harvest reserve. 

3.4.6    Reserves and protected areas in the lake

States should appreciate that typical areas of the lake should be reserved for conservation. These should include a selection among rocky shores, sandy shores and mud bottomed bays.  Each of these harbours different faunas of often habitat-restricted species.  This should be done after an appropriate inventory of the basin has been completed.

3.4.7                Aquaculture

It was noted that there is a growing interest and support for enhancing the native Lake Victoria fishery using aquaculture. The Conference recommended a very cautious approach to large aquaculture development because such initiatives can impact biodiversity in a number of ways.  Cage and pen culture can accelerate sedimentation rates, the accrual of uneaten food increases eutrophication and antibiotics and antifouling compounds can lead to local toxic pollution.

3.4.8                Conservation of genetic biodiversity

The Conference was informed that a 10-year study on the conservation of genetic biodiversity in the Lake Victoria region has revealed the existence of enormous biodiversity, and highlights the need for continued studies in the region.  The genetic patrimony of the lake may be further threatened in the future. It was recommended that  States should  take great care in following the existing protocols governing movements, introduction, and stocking of fish into the lake or its satellite water bodies.

3.4.9                Wetlands management and conservation

The riparian States should give priority to the maintenance of wetlands in the Lake Victoria basin. This is critical to both ecosystem function and the conservation of indigenous species both in wetlands and in the lake.  Numerous anthropogenic activities including primarily reclamation for agricultural production, but also irrigation systems, canalization, mining/extraction and industrial and municipal pollution currently threaten wetlands. Current strategies for the sustainable management of wetlands include co-management systems for shoreline wetland resources (multi-stakeholder strategies), protection mediated by such activities as economic valuation (e.g., Yala Swamp), Ramsar status (e.g., Lake George, Lake Nabugabo), and other efforts such as the River Nyando and Sondu-Miriu Conservation and Rehabilitation Project.

 3.4.10            Biodiversity survey, standardized monitoring and evaluation

The East African States should support remnant populations of species that have persisted with Nile perch.  These are extremely important because they are the seeds for resurgence should predator pressure be reduced.  In some Satelite lakes of the Victoria basin and some sections of Lake Victoria itself, over fishing has reduced the numbers of large Nile perch and sparked a resurgence of indigenous species.  There is no doubt that this is a biologically filtered fauna, representing species that have persisted with Nile perch and species with the flexibility to respond quickly to reduced predator pressure.  However, the composition of the resurging fauna, the speed of resurgence, and the nature of the recovered food web are largely unknown. This calls for standardized taxonomically and ecologically detailed biodiversity survey and monitoring that is compatible with ongoing inshore and offshore stock assessment, but must include a broad suite of representative habitat types.   It should encompass within- and between-site replication so that changes may be detected with adequate sensitivity and rigour.

3.4.11  Reintroduction

The riparian Governments should study the recent proposals for reintroduction of cichlid species into satellite water bodies.  The uncertainty about population trends and lack of protection drive this need, at least currently, in the main lake.  However, much caution must be executed in considering this intervention because of potentially negative genetic effects.

3.4.12  Recommendations

The riparian Governments should take note of the resurgence of some indigenous species increasingly evident in areas of Lake Victoria and Lake Nabugabo, which has given new hope for the maintenance of biodiversity in the system and a renewed interest in careful management options that promote sustainability of the fishery and biodiversity conservation. A coherent plan for conservation and rehabilitation of the lake basin fish faunas should be developed without delay.  The plan should encompass the following:-

o Provisions for the setting up of Reserves typifying the various habitats of the lake, its tributary rivers, associated wetlands and satellite lakes, after an appropriate inventory has been conducted;  

o The human aspects of such Reserves through consultation with local groups;

o General policies for the management of the fishery and for the range of other human activities in the lake basin. This will involve negotiation with other interested stakeholders; 

o Formulation of strategies to reinforce conservation efforts should be made to place financial and social value on the resources to be protected and 

o Education programmes addressed to all levels of society aimed at clarifying the benefits from conservation and defining the processes needed to achieve it.

3.5            Integrated Lake Basin Management

3.5.1            Approach

In building the discussion and recommendations the Conference focussed on the following approaches:

•   Understanding that the resources of the Lake Victoria basin  are trans-boundary in character that is influenced by activities at local, national, regional and wider international levels;

•        Emphasis on a trans-sectoral approach where fisheries is only one element to be addressed in the planning, development and management of the Lake Victoria basin

•   Realization that any plans and derived strategies must involve all stakeholders, this being a cornerstone for Human Resource Development (HRD) in the Lake Victoria basin;

•   Awareness that Theme 5 must integrate with Themes 1-4 and be cognizant of their findings;

•   Recognition that the findings of all themes should lead to integration and sustainability, and

•        Adopting a matrix that could be used to evaluate issues, options, strategies, and operational plans based on: social; economic; legal; political; environmental; administrative; technical and biological factors and the FAO Integration of Fisheries into Coastal Area Management.

3.5.2  Impacts on fisheries resulting from activities in other sectors

The Conference identified the following impacts on fisheries from other sectors:

•   Degradation of the ecosystem;

•        Social and economic impacts;

•        The loss of wetlands of the Lake Victoria basin compromising their role as safe guards of bio-diversity, and agents of general resource conservation;

•        Effects of urbanization and industrialization of the catchment on the traditional users;

•        The view of the Lake Victoria basin resources as a ‘welfare’ device;

•        Effects of siltation and erosion processes;

•        Spatial conflicts between user groups and  problem of weakly defined property rights;

•        Temporal changes affecting the interplay between sectors or processes – agriculture/urbanization/industrialization – and the shifting dominance of one sector over another;

•   Suppression of one sector’s activities by policies of others;

•        Effects of tourism;

•        Impact of forces transmitted to the Lake Victoria basin by the global market;

•        Failure of economic policy instruments to work and  non-compliance;

•        Role of inter-ministerial commissions as organizations to broker management of the Lake Victoria basin;

•        Question of how policy instruments may be harmonized and who holds jurisdiction at various levels; weakness of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance and

•        Rights of users to an acceptable level of environmental quality.

3.5.3 Regulatory and economic policy instruments

It was noted that States should address the following:

•        Role of stakeholders;

•        The problems of non-compliance with the regulations;

•        Invalidity of regulatory techniques borne out of inadequate representation/incorporation of user needs/aspirations;

•   Empowerment of the community;

•   Inadequacy of the regulations in relation to different political levels (local, national, regional and global influence) and

•        Use of scientific and non-scientific data bases to help integrate management for he Lake Victoria basin.

3.5.4  The rights of traditional and customary fishers and fish farmers to enjoy an acceptable environmental quality

Member countries should resolve the following problems:

•        Conflicts between the more destructive activities of users in the Lake Victoria basin and the less damaging;

•        Impacts of mining, deforestation, urbanization and changes in the focus and intensity of agriculture and

•        Impact of tourism.

3.5.5   Valuation of Lake Victoria basin resources

Riparian States should give serious consideration to:

•   Establishing common standards to compare and contrast user activities using different measures e.g. comparative cost/benefit and/or cost effectiveness analyses;

•        Under-valuation of the resource base;

•   Distortions to value caused by political interventions, cultural idiosyncrasies;

•        Wider-ranging assessment of all contributions to value;

•        Establish a matrix of valuation tools or devices;

•        duality of some sectoral activities e.g. positive impact of urbanization on demand/markets for fish but human waste discharges may have negative impact;

•   Marginalisation of fish production, economic value not fully realized;

•   Limitations of social/economic databases;

•        Paucity of regional databases addressing social and economic data collection and

•   Subservience of socio-economic data collection with respect to scientific domain.

3.5.6 Parameters relating to the integration of fisheries into planning and management of  the Lake Victoria basin

Member countries should focus attention on:

•          Social and economic parameters;

• Population density, employment, alternatives to fisheries, income levels;

•          Physical and biological parameters;

•          Holistic rather then sectorally (‘boxed’) approach;

•          Seek to minimize adverse impacts;

•          Who will take responsibility for integration;

• Designated authority and