116 CSOs Push for Lake Victoria World Heritage Site Nomination

What the report says

Nile Post reports that 116 civil society organisations and three individuals from 35 countries are urging Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to start a transparent, community-led assessment of Lake Victoria for a possible UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination. The appeal was made ahead of the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, and frames the lake as a potential focus for regional cooperation on conservation, heritage protection and public participation.

According to the report, the coalition wants the three governments, with support from UNESCO, the World Heritage Committee, the East African Community and other partners, to consult communities and experts before deciding any nomination route. The groups say the assessment should consider the lake as a living cultural landscape, including its watershed, islands, wetlands, shorelines, tributaries, cultural sites and communities. They also said existing UNESCO tentative listings for geometric rock art in the Lake Victoria region could inform the process, while specialists determine whether a future bid should be cultural, natural or mixed.

Lake Victoria is described in the report as Africa’s largest lake by surface area and the world’s largest tropical lake, shared by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, with a basin reaching Rwanda and Burundi. Its connection to the Nile system makes its management significant for water security, fisheries, wetlands, pollution control and cross-border freshwater governance.

The coalition also raised concerns about pressures in the wider basin, including oil-related developments linked to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, while noting the pipeline does not cross the lake itself. It called for a joint taskforce of governments, communities, scientists and conservation experts, as well as support for community mapping, research, ecological assessments and cultural documentation.