Lake Victoria stakeholders have resolved to promote compliance with applicable laws and regulations in order to realise sustainable development in the lake basin.During their meeting in Uganda, they emphasised a coordinated approach in tackling problems facing the shared water body, which supports the livelihoods of East Africans.

Ugandan First Deputy Prime Minister and inister for East African Community (EAC) Affairs Eriya Kategaya told officials from the partner states that sustainability should remain the basis of mutual cooperation among institutions and agencies working in the basin.  "Let me make this clear that there is enough room for all of us to work together in the lake basin. What we really want to do is to consolidate mutual trust and respect for institutional expertise, values and mandates," he said.

For his part, Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) Executive Secretary Dr Canisius Kanangire note that the LVBC had contributed considerably to the harmonisation of coordinated actions in various ways. ?Under the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase (LVEMP II),? he said, ?LVBC has completed a strategy on proposed options for establishing the Lake Victoria Environmental Trust Fund.

Other projects, whose take off has been finalised include the Lake Victoria Basin Water Hyacinth Surveillance, Control and Monitoring Strategy and Basin-wide Strategy for Sustainable Land Management in the Lake Victoria Basin. "I have no doubt that these strategies, when shared, understood and utilised, will contribute greatly to environmental conservation and poverty eradication in the Lake Victoria Basin," he said.

Other institutions incorporated into the programme are the Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperation (LVRLAC), the Nile Basin Discourse (NBD) and East African SusWatch Network.

The Lake Victoria Basin Stakeholders' Forum is a bi-annual event organised by LVBC to share experiences on sustainable development issues in the area. This year's event was held under the theme: ?Enhancing Partnership for Sustainable Development?.

Participants had an opportunity to explore a diverse range of issues in four thematic areas including natural resources, environmental and production systems, trade and investment, quality of life and knowledge management and information-sharing in the basin.