Presentation by Benjamin Ssekamuli (LVBC) at the Symposium Models and decision-making in the wake of climate uncertainties, during the Deltares Software Days - Kampala 2023 (DSD-Kampala 2023). Wednesday, 4 October 2023, Kampala, Uganda.

1. Development of the Lake Victoria Basin Water
Information System (LVB-WIS)
BY: BENJAMIN SSEKAMULI
Water Resources Modeller - LVBC
Ssekamuli@lvbcom.org
Deltares Software Days, Kampala, Uganda

2. Outline
• The Lake Victoria Basin Commission
(LVBC)
• Purpose of the LVB-WIS
• LVB-WIS Development Process
• Progress/Achievements
• Sample LVB-WIS Products
• Prospects
• Conclusion and Recommendations

3. The Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC)
 Specialized Institution of the East African Community (EAC). EAC Established by a
Treaty, 1999. Currently made of seven (7) Partner States.
 Establishment of LVBC is provided for under Chapter 19 Article 114 of the Treaty
 Operationalized by the Protocol for Sustainable Development of Lake Victoria
Basin (2003)

4. LVB - Areas of Cooperation
Areas of Cooperation
1. Sustainable development, management and equitable utilization of water
resources;
2. Sustainable development and management of fisheries resources;
3. Promotion of sustainable agricultural and land use practices including irrigation;
4. Promotion of sustainable development and management of forestry resources;
5. Promotion of development and management of wetlands;
6. Promotion of trade, commerce and industrial development;
7. Promotion of development of infrastructure and energy;
8. Maintenance of navigational safety and maritime security;
9. Improvement in public health with specific reference to sanitation;
10. Promotion of research, capacity building and information exchange;
11. Environmental protection and management of the Basin
12. Promotion of Public participation in planning and decision-making;
13. Integration of gender concerns in all activities in the Basin; and
14. Promotion of wildlife conservation and sustainable tourism development.
A prosperous population living in a healthy and
sustainably managed environment providing
equitable opportunities and benefits
To promote, facilitate & coordinate activities of
different actors towards sustainable Development
and poverty eradication of the LVB.
A. Promote: Equitable economic growth,
B. poverty eradication,
C. Environment Conservation in the LVB.
D. Sustainable utilization of NRM within the LVB,
E. Safety of Navigation in Lake Victoria
Coordinate the sustainable management and
development of the Lake Victoria Basin
Mandate
Vision
Mission
Objectives

5. Purpose of the LVB-WIS
Purpose: to support policy measures and local investment
decisions for the long-term sustainable development of the
Lake Victoria Basin.
– contribute to increased awareness, better informed
problem analysis, and informed investment decision
making.
– consists of a database platform that will be linked with a
suit of modelling tools.
– provide easy access to data, publications, literature
as well as other relevant information.
Key considerations:
 Where to invest what, impact of the investment, cost of doing
nothing
 Cooperative dialogue at regional level, based on information
 Facts to inform policy direction/shift
 Enhanced Partnership (National, Regional, and International)

6. LVB-WIS Development Process
 Extensive stakeholder consultations (National, Regional) – Needs
assessment
 Partner State Needs (information requirements)
 Existing systems/tools in each Partner State
 Technical Capacity
 Establishment of a Regional LVB-WIS technical team.
 Gathering of Open Source Data (OSD)
 LVB-WIS design – hybrid approach (Delft-FEWS + NB DSS)
 Joint development/configuration to enable capacity development and
ownership (LVBC, Partner State Experts, Nile Basin Initiative
 Identification and modelling of Regional Use cases
 Deployment on a regional (LVBC) server as a client-server system
 Identification and modelling of National Use cases

7. Progress/Achievements
 Partner State Information needs, existing
tools, and capacity building needs identified
 Regional LVB-WIS technical team
established (12 Partner State Experts, 3
LVBC Staff, 2 NBI staff, 5 consultants).
 Open Source Data (OSD) collected
 LVB-WIS designed and Joint
development/configuration undertaken
 LVB-WIS development completed and
tested (stand-alone)
 Three (3) Regional use cases modelled
 Five (5) national use cases conceptualised,
yet to be modelled

8. Sample LVB-WIS Products; LV Water Balance

9. Sample LVB-WIS Products; 5 day Rainfall forecast

10. Prospects
• Install and test the LVB-WIS as a client-server system
• Operationalization of the LVB-WIS
• Through Regional and National Use cases
• Use the LVB-WIS in the development of the State of Lake Victoria Basin Report
• Joint data processing and modeling of use cases – capacity development + relevance of the LVB-WIS
• Establishing Partnerships with academic and research institutions - Internship programs
• Use regional cases to inform investment planning, resource mobilization, and influence policy direction
• Dissemination symposiums
• Comprehensive water quality monitoring
• Partnership with NBI along the Hydromet project to enhance data collection approaches
• Designing and implementation of a program for comprehensive water quality management, targeting joint
collection and use of water quality data.
• Establish a dedicated unit at LVBC for Water Resources Development and Management

11. Potential use of the LVB-WIS
Areas of Cooperation
1. Sustainable development, management and equitable utilization of water
resources;
2. Sustainable development and management of fisheries resources;
3. Promotion of sustainable agricultural and land use practices including irrigation;
4. Promotion of sustainable development and management of forestry resources;
5. Promotion of development and management of wetlands;
6. Promotion of trade, commerce and industrial development;
7. Promotion of development of infrastructure and energy;
8. Maintenance of navigational safety and maritime security;
9. Improvement in public health with specific reference to sanitation;
10. Promotion of research, capacity building and information exchange;
11. Environmental protection and management of the Basin
12. Promotion of Public participation in planning and decision-making;
13. Integration of gender concerns in all activities in the Basin; and
14. Promotion of wildlife conservation and sustainable tourism development.
A prosperous population living in a healthy and
sustainably managed environment providing
equitable opportunities and benefits
To promote, facilitate & coordinate activities of
different actors towards sustainable Development
and poverty eradication of the LVB.
A. Promote: Equitable economic growth,
B. poverty eradication,
C. Environment Conservation in the LVB.
D. Sustainable utilization of NRM within the LVB,
E. Safety of Navigation in Lake Victoria
Coordinate the sustainable management and
development of the Lake Victoria Basin
Mandate
Vision
Mission
Objectives

12. Conclusion and Recommendations
• LVB-WIS is a regional tool to facilitate joint monitoring of the state of the basin – opportunities,
trends, and challenges; problem analysis; and information sharing among others.
• Partnership in the use of common tools is essential for deepening cooperation and widening
integration within the region, and monitoring key indicators regarding the health of the basin.
• Observed data still limited, especially water quality - need concerted efforts in enhancing joint in-
situ data collection and sharing.
• Need for creating awareness all levels (technical, managerial, and policy) in the relevance of tools
for informed decision making for sustainable management – use case concept
• Enhancing national/regional technical capacities in the use of tools – regional pool of expertise

13. Thank you