Lake Victoria Basin Commission

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Described as:

– river basin organization
– formal commission

The multilateral commission was established 2003 and is based upon the Protocol for Sustainable Development of the Lake Victoria Basin. It covers Lake Victoria and includes Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Secretariat

Functions of the secretariat include: implement work of Commission in accordance with the policy and decisions of Sectoral Council, submit reports on work of Commission as well as audited accounts to Council, be accounting officer, coordinate all activities within scope of Protocol, initiate coordination and harmonization of policies and strategies, establish regional database and promote sharing of information and development of information systems and data exchange, convene meetings of Sectoral Committees of Commission and other Working Groups, facilitate research and studies, submit reports to Sectoral Council through the Co-ordination Committee, undertake administration and financial management of Commission, disseminate information on Commission to Stakeholders and international community, mobilize resources for implementation of the projects and programs and develop sustainable funding mechanism.

Relevant Water Law Principles

International water law principles mentioned in legally relevant documents to this organization include: equitable and reasonable use, principle of sustainable development, obligation not to cause significant harm, obligation of prior notification, principle of precaution and polluter pays principle.

Organizational Bodies

Organizational bodies include: Sectoral Council, Coordination Committee, Secretariat, Sectoral Committees, Donor Consultative Group and National Focal Point Offices.

Decision-making Mechanisms

Decisions of the summit (which is composed of the heads of state of the EAC member states) and the council of ministers of the EAC are taken by consensus.

Dispute Resolution Mechanisms

Partner states concerned shall seek solution by negotiation; if dispute not resolved, either partner state or the secretary general may refer such dispute to the east african court of justice; decision of the east african court of justice on any dispute referred to it under this protocol shall be final The first instance of a dispute between parties is resolved bilaterally between disputing parties through negotiation without RBO involvement. A further instance of a dispute between parties is resolved externally by a third party using an external mechanism involving third parties.

Monitoring

Sectoral committees shall monitor and keep under constant review the implementation of the programs undertaken in the basin; partner state shall periodically report on measures, which it has taken for the implementation of the provisions of protocol and effectiveness in meeting the objectives of this protocol.

Adaptation Mechanisms

Specific adaptation mechanisms include: Protocol may be amended any time by the agreement of the Partner States

Funding and Cost Share

Sources of funds for the commission shall be from the east africa community budget, stakeholdersÍ contributions, development partners; LVBC is funded from the EAC budget, stakeholdersÍ contributions, development partners and other such sources as shall be established by the council Key donors who provide financing include: EAfDB; France; Norway; Sweden; World Bank There are not specific established mechanisms for cost sharing between RBO members.

Public Participation

Program furthers participation of local communities; member states shall create environment conducive for stakeholdersÍ views to influence governmental decisions on project formulation and implementation and promote community involvement and mainstreaming of gender concerns at all levels of socio-economic development, especially with regard to decision-making, policy formulation and implementation of projects and programs; secretariat shall disseminate information on commission to stakeholders Co-operate with other states and international organizations in developing educational and public awareness programs, with respect to conservation and sustainable use of the resources of basin; EAC has also signed memoranda of understanding with various institutions and governments, including IUCN, the worldwide fund for nature _ eastern africa regional programme office (ñwwf-earpoî), international centre for research in agroforestry (ñicrafî)

External Links

• International River Basin Organization database — The International RBO Database was created by Susanne Schmeir as part of her PhD research and has been incorporated into the resources hosted by the Transboundary Freshwater Disputes Database at Oregon State University. It is available in a queryable online form, data download.

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