BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 15 — The East African Community (EAC) has officially launched the Preview Edition of the Lake Victoria State of the Basin Report 2025 during a high-profile side event at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30).Prepared by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) with support from GIZ, the report offers one of the most comprehensive assessments to date of the environmental, socio-economic, and governance conditions across the Lake Victoria Basin, home to more than 45 million people.Described by regional leaders as a “landmark, evidence-based blueprint,” the report consolidates data on water quality, biodiversity, climate change, population pressures, land use, and natural resource management. Its findings are intended to guide policymaking and investment across the five EAC Partner States.“Lake Victoria is more than the world’s largest tropical lake. It is the beating heart of East Africa — our water, our food, our energy, our livelihoods,” said Andrea Ariik, EAC Deputy Secretary General for Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, at the launch.“Yet despite its immense value, Lake Victoria is under serious threat. The findings of this report make that reality unmistakably clear.”The report highlights growing environmental pressures, including declining water quality caused by untreated wastewater, industrial effluent, agricultural runoff, and sedimentation, leading to eutrophication, oxygen depletion, and the collapse of some fisheries. Biodiversity losses Biodiversity losses are driven by habitat destruction, invasive species, and pollution.“This is not just an environmental story but a human story,” Ariik noted. “The degradation of the Lake Victoria Basin undermines food security, public health, economic growth, and social stability.”Climate change is intensifying these challenges, with rising temperatures, extreme rainfall events, droughts, and floods impacting agriculture, hydropower, and communities across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi.Despite these threats, the report identifies actionable solutions, including wastewater treatment, sustainable agriculture, catchment and wetland restoration, erosion control, and nature-based solutions. Strengthening governance and enforcement, particularly by empowering the LVBC, is seen as critical to effective cross-border management.“A business-as-usual path will only deepen the crisis and escalate costs. But a sustainable investment pathway offers the promise of a resilient Lake Victoria Basin that continues to support livelihoods for generations to come,” Ariik warned.A key feature of the report is the Water Information System (WIS), funded with EUR 60 million by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through KfW under the Lake Victoria Basin Integrated Water Resources Management Program. The system enables monitoring, data collection, and evidence-based decision-making across the basin.The launch drew regional and international leaders, including Caroline Karugu, Kenya’s Principal Secretary for EAC Affairs; Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Managing Director at GIZ; Christiane Laibach, Executive Board Member of KfW; and Callist Tindimugaya, Uganda’s Director of Resources Management.In closing, Ariik urged governments, development partners, civil society, and the private sector to act decisively:“The health of the Lake Victoria Basin is not a sectoral concern; it is a regional imperative, central to our shared prosperity and stability. Let this report be the turning point where knowledge drives action and political will is matched by investment.”