Title Industrial Runoff, Wetland Degradation, and Public Health Risk in the Lake Victoria Basin: Freshwater Vulnerability in a Conflict-Exposed Great Lakes Region
Author(s) Shirat Nagitta
Affiliation Wabyoona Investments Limited
Country Uganda
Contribution type case study; empirical study
Thematic area • War and Freshwater Systems
Conference framework connection • Analytical Track AT-01 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-02 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-03 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-04 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-05 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-06 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-07 — provisional title to be defined
Abstract The Lake Victoria Basin is one of East Africa’s most important freshwater systems and a shared ecological space linking Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi through hydrological, economic, and population networks. Although the lake itself is not the centre of a single armed conflict, it is situated within the wider African Great Lakes region, where recent and ongoing conflicts, displacement, border tensions, and livelihood pressures have increased the vulnerability of communities dependent on freshwater systems. Within this context, the degradation of wetlands is not only an environmental problem but also a public health and regional resilience issue.This paper examines industrial runoff, agricultural intensification, and wetland degradation in the Lake Victoria Basin, with particular attention to the Katonga wetland system and communities reliant on natural water channels. The study analyses how industrial effluents and agricultural runoff may alter freshwater chemistry, increase exposure to potentially toxic elements, reduce the filtering capacity of wetlands, and create conditions favourable to waterborne pathogens. These processes are especially significant in rural and peri-urban areas where communities depend on local water sources and where formal monitoring systems may be limited.The paper argues that freshwater risk in the Lake Victoria Basin should be understood through a combined environmental and conflict-geography lens. Regional instability in the wider Great Lakes area, population movement, land-use pressure, and uneven infrastructure all intensify the consequences of wetland degradation. By synthesizing regional water-quality indicators, local health-centre observations, and community-level exposure patterns, the presentation proposes a decentralized framework for wetland restoration and water monitoring. This approach links pollution control, public health protection, and freshwater resilience in a shared basin affected by both ecological stress and regional conflict dynamics.
Key points ● Wetland degradation in the Lake Victoria Basin reduces natural water filtration and increases public health vulnerability.● Industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and pathogen proliferation should be analysed together rather than as separate environmental problems.● The wider conflict geography of the African Great Lakes region increases pressure on freshwater systems through displacement, livelihood insecurity, and intensified land and water use.
Keywords Lake Victoria Basin; Katonga Wetland; Industrial Runoff; Wetland Degradation; Waterborne Pathogens; Freshwater Pollution; Public Health; Great Lakes Region
Main discussion question How can freshwater monitoring and wetland restoration in the Lake Victoria Basin account for both local pollution sources and the wider conflict-related pressures affecting communities in the African Great Lakes region?
OJS publication link https://pollution-diseases-ojs.org/index.php/pd/article/view/42
Note. Analytical TracksIn addition to the main thematic areas, the conference programme will include several cross-cutting analytical tracks. These tracks will be defined during the preparation of the programme, based on the submitted abstracts and the emerging links between presentations.At the preliminary stage, abstracts may be assigned to provisional analytical tracks marked as AT-01 to AT-07. Final track titles will be announced after the Scientific Committee has reviewed the submitted materials.