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The Lake Victoria Basin Commission acknowledges the
work of many individuals and institutions that provided
the content and analyses for the Lake Victoria Basin: Atlas
of Our Changing Environment. The atlas is the first such
publication for the Lake Victoria Basin, which is not only
one of the largest single ecosystems in East Africa, but
also a shared resource that has the potential to promote
sustainable development and regional cooperation.
The Lake Victoria Basin Commission is thankful to its
partners and individuals for their many contributions
towards the preparation of the atlas. The East African
Community (EAC), from which the Commission derives
its mandate, supported the initiative, while the past
Lake Victoria Basin Commission Executive Secretary, Dr.
Cannissius Kanangire, provided guidance to the atlas
production process. The Lake Victoria Basin Commission
secretariat is acknowledged for having the fine mix of
professional and people skills that were relevant to the
production of the atlas.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
especially the Regional Office for Africa, provided access to
some of its networks, including the Environmental Pulse
Initiative, through which some satellite datasets were
accessed. GRID-Arendal provided technical and training
support, as well as coordinated the design and printing of
the atlas. Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs contributed
financially towards the production of the atlas.
The preparation of this atlas benefited from experiences
from similar initiatives within and outside the Lake
Victoria Basin. The Kenya Environment Management
Agency, Zambia Environment Management Agency
and Rwanda Environment Management Agency’s
experience in producing their national atlases provided
valuable knowledge and guidance to the Lake Victoria
Basin: Atlas of Our Changing Environment.
The preparation of the Lake Victoria Basin: Atlas of
Our Changing Environment started in 2014 with the
Acknowledgements
formation of a consultative group from representatives
of the Lake Victoria Basin partner states. Initial
consultations that were jointly coordinated by the
Lake Victoria Basin Commission and GRID-Arendal,
resulted in an annotated outline for the atlas, as well as
identified sites where significant environmental change
had happened and could be visualized. Thereafter
a training and drafting workshop was convened in
Kigali, Rwanda, at which the draft copy was presented
and reviewed. Guidance from this workshop, and peer
reviews later on were useful in improving and updating
the content of the atlas.
Design and printing of the atlas was done by GRID-
Arendal in consultation with the Lake Victoria Basin
Commission. Both GRID-Arendal and the Lake Victoria
Basin Commission host the internet version of the atlas,
which is available at with links to https://
The atlas was produced with technical backstopping
from UNEP as well as from Environmental Pulse
Initiative. The Lake Victoria Basin Commission thanks
GRID-Arendal for their creativity in the production of
visual materials such as maps and graphics, as well
as for designing and printing the final product. To Dr.
Ally-Said Matano and Mr. Telly Eugene Muramira, the
Commission and GRID-Arendal acknowledge your spirit
of partnership and shared vision for the Lake Victoria
Basin as well as your personal commitment to the
preparation of the atlas. Our gratitude also go to Dr.
Peter Harris and his management team at GRID-Arendal
for the enormous encouragement and oversight they
had to the process.
There are many organisations and individuals who have
contributed directly and indirectly to this process. While
efforts have been made to acknowledge their input, it
may be that not everyone has been credited by name.
Please accept this acknowledgement of your role in this
important publication.
Eng. Omari Mwinjika,
Lake Victoria Basin Commission