Shared Waters, Shared Responsibility: Building a Circular Blue Economy on Lake Victoria

 

The floating solar-powered lamp in position to attract the silver fish. The lamps are placed just after sunset to provide light that attracts the silver fish to the surface. Later, the fishermen spread their nets below the light to catch the fish 

(📷: waterjournalistsafrica.com, 2021)

At dawn on the shores of Lake Victoria in Homa Bay, Kenya, Juma wipes rainwater from his face as he pulls in his fishing nets. The catch is smaller than it was five years ago. Beside him, his son carefully lifts a floating solar lamp from the canoe — a fragile but important tool that now helps the family fish through the night without relying on expensive kerosene. Across the lake in Mwanza, Tanzania, Rehema turns rows of silver fish (locally known as dagaa) drying under a solar-powered tent while calculating whether today’s earnings will cover school fees. In Uganda’s Kalangala Islands, Moses studies the darkening clouds before setting off onto increasingly unpredictable waters.

Though separated by borders, their stories are connected by one reality: Lake Victoria is changing, and so must the livelihoods that depend on it.

For generations, fishing communities around Africa’s largest lake have relied on kerosene lanterns and battery-powered lamps to attract omena and dagaa during night fishing. But those technologies have come at a heavy price. Rising fuel costs, toxic battery waste, fire risks, and pollution have steadily increased pressure on a lake that already supports more than 40 million people across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda (Siemens Stiftung, 2024).

Today, solar fishing lights and other environmentally friendly fishing technologies are emerging as part of a growing effort to make fisheries on Lake Victoria more sustainable and climate resilient. Yet their real promise goes beyond clean energy. They also represent an opportunity to build a more circular economy around the lake — one where materials are reused, waste is reduced, and natural resources are protected instead of depleted.

That matters because Lake Victoria’s environmental crisis is not only about overfishing. It is also about how communities produce, consume, and dispose of materials. Discarded fishing nets, damaged batteries, plastic waste, untreated industrial discharge, and poor waste management practices continue to pollute shorelines and waterways.

Hence, the transition to solar fishing technologies is not simply about replacing kerosene lamps and lead-acid batteries. It is about rethinking how Lake Victoria’s fisheries economy produces, uses, repairs, and disposes of resources in ways that protect both livelihoods and ecosystems.

Solar Fishing Lights Gain Ground — Unevenly

Projects such as WePower – WeTu in Kenya are beginning to show how cleaner and more circular approaches can work in practice. WePower’s approach involves taking deliberate steps, starting with introducing solar-charged fishing lanterns and eco-friendly floaters. By renting our lanterns to their clients, WePower – WeTu  takes care of the charging and maintenance of our products to ensure quality and an environmentally sound reuse and recycling process. Their solar-powered lanterns are designed to last longer, reduce fuel dependency, and lower heavy-metal pollution caused by disposable batteries (Siemens Stiftung, 2024).

However, a regional study by the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO, 2024) revealed that over 90% of fishers in Kenya and Tanzania are using battery-powered solar lights, while in Uganda, the use of Solar lights was slowed down by a ban following a claim that it leads to catching of immature Nile perch. However, this was overturned after a study by the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NAFIRRI) that found usage of electric solar lamps during fishing on water bodies to be safe and environmentally friendly.  

But Dr Brian Isabirye, Commissioner in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, revealed the Ugandan government will not rush to ban the usage of paraffin lanterns, but would instead promote the use of electric solar lights, increase access and facilitate loans to enable fishermen to acquire the lighting systems. “We shall not ban the use of kerosene lanterns now, but rather encourage the fishermen to access the solar lights. We shall work with the traders and the entire private sector to provide the lights to the fishing communities,” he added (The Daily Monitor, August 14, 2023).

In Tanzania, the Fisheries Union Organisation (FUO), based in Mwanza region, Tanzania, working together with Sagar Energy Solutions Co. Ltd, through dialogue-based community meetings, reached out to more than 500 community members on the islands of Ito, Nfulubizi, and Ikulu in Buchosa District, who  expressed concern over the misuse of lead-acid batteries in fishing activities. 

At the same time, FUO introduced the option of solar-powered fishing lights to them as a safer, clean-energy alternative that reduces toxic exposure and protects aquatic life. FUO warns that ‘Used batteries are often discarded directly into the lake or placed carelessly near fish after harvesting, allowing toxic chemicals and heavy metals to contaminate water and fish consumed by communities’. Many participants reported that the sessions had corrected previous misconceptions about solar lamps, especially regarding their durability, effectiveness, and economic benefits.

Circularity opportunities from the use of solar lights

Repairing solar lamps, recycling batteries, reusing fishing materials, and developing local maintenance systems can create jobs for young people around the lake while reducing waste. This is in addition to fish waste itself, which is already being reused as organic fertiliser, animal feed, or biogas instead of being discarded into waterways. In the Lake Victoria basin, where youth unemployment remains high, these circular economy opportunities could strengthen livelihoods beyond fishing alone.

For families like Juma’s, the benefits are practical and immediate. Solar lamps reduce spending on kerosene, improve visibility at night, and reduce exposure to smoke and toxic fumes. Researchers from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KEMFRI) have also found that LED solar lights can attract fish more efficiently because the light penetrates deeper into the water than traditional kerosene lanterns (The Star Kenya, 2024). According to WePower – WeTu, by the end of 2024, over 430 fishermen across three counties in Western Kenya’s Lake Victoria region had adopted solar fishing lanterns, thereby promoting efficient and sustainable fishing of silverfish.

‘This innovation has enhanced safety and productivity in night-time fishing while reducing reliance on harmful kerosene lamps and lead-acid batteries, WePower – WeTu’s 2024 Report notes in part.

Barriers to the adoption of solar fishing technologies

Yet despite growing interest, access to solar fishing technologies remains deeply unequal across the lake basin.

For example, Moses explains that purchasing solar fishing equipment still requires money that many fishing households simply do not have. A boat may need several solar lamps every night, and replacing damaged batteries or lighting systems can cost more than a family earns in weeks.

Although East African governments have promoted renewable energy in recent years, fishers and cooperatives argue that solar fishing equipment still faces high taxes, import duties, and transport costs that keep prices unaffordable for poorer communities (IEA, 2025).

The absence of targeted tax exemptions and import duty relief for solar fishing technologies has become a growing frustration around the lake. Many fishers believe governments treat solar fishing tools as luxury products instead of essential livelihood equipment. As a result, cleaner technologies remain concentrated among wealthier boat owners, while poorer fishers continue relying on cheaper but more polluting kerosene systems.

In this regard, FUO and its partners continue to call upon the Tanzanian Government, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), and all relevant authorities to take immediate action by removing taxes on solar fishing lights to protect public health, preserve the Lake Victoria ecosystem, and promote safe, sustainable fishing practices for present and future generations. ‘The adoption of solar fishing lights continues to face serious challenges because battery-powered lights remain cheaper on the market, while solar lights are heavily affected by import duties and taxes', FUO emphasises in one of its public statements.

Beyond the use of solar lights, wider Lake Victoria challenges persist

Other barriers persist, too. Some landing sites lack charging infrastructure, maintenance services, spare parts, recycling systems, or access to affordable financing. Theft of solar equipment has also discouraged adoption in certain fishing communities. Without stronger circular systems for repair, reuse, and recycling, even green technologies risk creating new waste challenges in the future.

And even where green technologies are adopted, they cannot solve the Lake’s deeper environmental crisis on their own.

Fish stocks continue to decline due to overfishing, illegal fishing gear, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. Plastic waste washes onto beaches after heavy rains, while unpredictable weather patterns make fishing seasons increasingly dangerous and uncertain (Associated Press, 2023). Rising water temperatures and ecosystem degradation are also threatening biodiversity and food security across the basin.

These realities reflect broader concerns raised in the latest UN Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025. According to the report, only 35% of global SDG targets are currently on track or making moderate progress, while nearly half are progressing too slowly and 18% have regressed (UN DESA, 2025). Progress on SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 14 (Life below Water) remains particularly uneven in many developing regions, including East Africa.

As the region warms up to the Lake Victoria Day 2026 celebrations in Mwanza, these conversations are becoming more urgent. The event is expected to spotlight renewable energy, sustainable fisheries, environmental conservation, and community-led solutions across the lake basin.

But Lake Victoria Day should be more than a celebration. It should be a turning point.

This is because Lake Victoria is not just a body of water. It is food, transport, employment, culture, and identity for millions of East Africans. Protecting it requires more than pilot projects and speeches. It requires governments to invest seriously in affordable green technologies, remove taxes and import barriers on solar fishing equipment, strengthen fisheries governance, and support circular economy solutions that reduce waste while creating jobs and protecting ecosystems.

Communities around the lake are already showing willingness to adapt. Fishers like Juma, Rehema, and Moses are proving that sustainability and circularity are possible when innovation meets local knowledge and lived realities.

The real question ahead of Lake Victoria Day 2026 is whether policymakers, businesses, and development partners are willing to match that commitment.

It is therefore imperative for Governments to allow  targeted tax exemptions for certified solar fishing equipment, enforce regional standards for safe battery disposal and recycling, and support concessional financing for fishing cooperatives and groups and incentivise investment in community-based repair and maintenance centres across landing sites.

The truth is that the future of Lake Victoria will not be secured by technology alone. It will depend on whether East Africa chooses to build a circular and inclusive blue economy that places its people — and the waters that sustain them — at the centre of development.

References

1. Associated Press. (2023). Pollution and environmental pressure on Lake Victoria.
2. International Energy Agency (IEA). (2025). Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy.
3. Fisheries Union Organisation:  www.fuo.or.tz (Taasisi ya Muungano wa Wavuvi) and statements to the Government of Tanzania
4. Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO). (2023). Sustainable Fishing Technologies Programme.
5. Siemens Stiftung. (2024). WePower: Clean solar lamps for fishermen at Lake Victoria.
6. The Star Kenya. (2024). Solar lights changing lives of Lake Victoria fishermen.
7. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). (2025). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025.
8. The Daily Monitor (August 14, 2023). New research okays solar light for fishing
9. WePower – WeTu: https://wetu.co.ke/wepower/