Lake Victoria: A Hotspot for Environmental Crime

A new report by the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has highlighted Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake, as a hotspot for environmental crime. The report, launched in 2023, reveals that the lake and its surrounding areas have become a hub for illicit markets, fueling transnational organized crime in the East African region.

The report notes that Lake Victoria’s ecosystem is under constant threat of extinction due to illegal activities such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, driven largely by the rising demand for Nile perch swim bladders (fish maw) in the Chinese market. Additionally, the illegal mining of sand, charcoal, and timber is also rampant in the region.

The report attributes the rise in illegal activities to the lack of a unified registration system for small boats, which has facilitated their use in such practices. It also highlights the clash in operational mandates among security forces from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, which is undermining regional efforts to combat these and other crimes.

According to Dr. Willis Okumu, a senior researcher at ISS, fisherfolk are the main actors in illegal activities on Lake Victoria, using their navigational experience and geographical knowledge of the lake to commit crimes. However, state officials are also implicated in environmental crimes for personal profit.

The report notes that the lack of enforcement of fisheries regulations allows fisherfolk to not only legally sustain their livelihoods but also engage in various forms of illegal fishing. These violations include operating without the required gear or nets, fishing in prohibited zones, lacking necessary licenses or permits, and targeting juvenile fish, among other crimes.

To combat these crimes, the researchers call for the harmonization of enforcement mechanisms used by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to enable them to cooperatively tackle transnational organized crimes, including environmental crimes such as the transit of charcoal, timber, and illegal fishing in Lake Victoria.

They also call for the harmonization of fishing regulations to ensure uniform compliance by fishermen in the lake, as well as the review and re-establishment of an oversight mechanism over the operations and functions of Beach Management Units (BMUs) to curb their complicity in the commission of transnational organized crimes.

The report concludes that Lake Victoria is a big resource, and it is a good thing that the partner states are realizing its importance, but it is important to recognize that as the economy grows, it does so with environmental crimes.