Private Sector Development Strategy for the Lake Victoria Basin

Abstract

Global processes of economic and political liberalisation in the early nineties have dramatically changed the perceptions on the role and contribution of the private sector in economic and social development. In the developing world, the private sector is increasingly seen as the engine of growth and the prime mover of development. The Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) is a regional and comprehensive environmental development program. The fundamental objective of the Project is to restore a healthy, varied lake ecosystem that is inherently stable and can support, in a sustainable way, the many human activities in the catchment area and in the lake itself. There are numerous documents on the many resources and opportunities that the Lake Victoria basin (LVB) can provide. The paradox is that this strong resource base is being sub-optimally exploited. A number of possible explanations have been offered mainly clustered around constraints such as the poverty situation and a high population concentration. The Lake Victoria basin is also facing serious environmental stress. Concerted efforts are needed to protect catchments, land resources, biodiversity, wildlife resources as well as proper and sustainable utilisation of the vast emerging mineral wealth.