The land resources in the LVB generate local, national and global benefits that are important for food security and rural livelihoods. However, this large agro-biodiversity is threatened by habitat modification and fragmentation, a reduction in vegetation cover and species diversity and over-exploitation and competition from invasive species, mainly as a consequent of human population growth. The LVB covers about 19400 Km2, shared amongst Tanzania (44%), Kenya (22%), Uganda (16%), Rwanda (11%), and Burundi (7%). It has about 35,000,000 people with a population density of about 300 per km2, which is higher than the national averages of Uganda (235), Burundi (210), Tanzania (190), Kenya (342), and Rwanda (378). The LVB has immense natural resources that include forests, savannah, rangelands, and fisheries which provide livelihood for communities around the basin. The demands to meet the needs of the rapidly increasing population and domestic animals in the form of space, shelter, space, food, water, health services, and waste disposal, puts very high pressure on the resources of the basin (LVBC, 2011). Since the 1970s, Lake Victoria's water quality has declined significantly, mainly due to increased sedimentation, water pollution and eutrophication, caused mainly by poor land use management within the Basin (LVB).

This book constitutes a pioneering and unique work on Lake Victoria. It is the world’s second largest fresh-water lake and supports the livelihood of more than 30 million people. Surprisingly, there has been no comprehensive book addressing its problems and potentials. Ecology, environmental pollution and resource management are some of the issues addressed by this comprehensive insight into the limitations, challenges and opportunities facing Lake Victoria.

This book is useful to those in water resources management and policy formulations, hydrologists, environmentalists, engineers and researchers. Exploiting advanced statistical techniques and the latest state-of-the-art multi-mission satellites, surface models and reanalysis products, this book provides the first comprehensive weighing of the changes in the Nile River Basin’s (NRB: ~ 3,400,000 km2 ) stored waters' compartments, surface, soil moisture and groundwater, and their association to climate variability/change and anthropogenic impacts on the one hand. On the other hand, it argues on the need for equitable use of the NRB’s waters by all 11 countries within its basin, and doing away with obsolete Nile treaties that were signed by Britain, Egypt and Sudan, which prohibit the use of the Nile by 8 upstream countries. With Ethiopia’s construction of Africa’s largest dam (GERD; Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) along the Blue Nile, which is expected to take several years to fill, the Nile is back on the news. Combined with Uganda’s Nalubaale, Kiira and Bujagali dams on the White Nile, these human-induced impacts (i.e., damming), coupled with those of climate variability/change, are expected to exacerbate tension with the low stream countries (Egypt and Sudan) fearing the cut in theNile’s total volume. Furthermore, the Nile river, arguably the world’s longest river (6800 km), impacts on the livelihood of over 300 million people of 11 countries within its basin. This population is expected to double in the next twenty-five years, thereby putting extreme pressure on its water resources. An in-depth analysis of changes in the Nile’s stored waters, therefore, is essential to inform its management and sustainable equitable use. Owing to its sheer size, however, obtaining in-situ data from “boots on the ground” is practically impossible, paving way to the space-based weighing of the Nile River Basin using a suite of high spatio-temporal remotely sensed and reanalysis products, as well as those of hydrological models. “Arguably, the Nile River is the most unique river in the world. It spans extremes of rainfall from being measured by meters to being measured by centimeters, from the humid tropics to the driest of deserts. Yet, thirsty people live throughout this basin and therefore the demands on its water resources are uneven. Knowing the water amounts throughout the entire Nile Basin is a critical step for governments and international treaties to avoid the “Tragedy of the Commons”. Africa can embrace this future through the leadership of Prof. Awange and others like him who have devoted their careers to Africa’s waters” —Doug Alsdorf, Ph.D., Professor of Geophysics at the Ohio State University (USA).

This book employs a suite of remotely sensed products and advanced technologies to provide the first comprehensive space-based sensing of Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest freshwater lake that supports a livelihood of more than 42 million people, modulates regional climate, but faces myriads of challenges. Proper understanding of the lake and changes in its physical dynamics (e.g., water level, shorelines and areal dynamics) resulting from the impacts of climate variation and climate change as well as anthropogenic (e.g., hydropower and irrigation) is important for its management as well as for strategic development before, during and after climate extremes (e.g., floods and droughts) in order to inform policy formulations, planning and mitigation measures. Owing to its sheer size, and lack of research resources commitment by regional governments that hamper its observations, however, it is a daunting task to undertake studies on Lake Victoria relying solely on in-situ “boots on the ground” measurements, which are sparse, missing in most cases, inconsistent or restricted by governmental red tapes. To unlock the potentials of Lake Victoria, this book argues for the removal of obsolete Nile treaties signed between Britain, Egypt and Sudan in the 1920s and 1950s, which prohibits its utilization by the upstream countries. The book is useful to those in water resources management and policy formulations, hydrologists, environmentalists, engineers and researchers. In a unique cross-disciplinary approach, the Book articulates the various climatic impacts and explanations from natural and anthropogenic origins, which affected Lake Victoria and its vicinity, including the drastic increase and depletion of water level in the Lake and dams, floods and droughts, water quality/security, crop health, food security, and economic implications. With no exception as in his many publications, Joseph L. Awange used data analysis methodologies including filtering, adjustment theory, and robust statistics, to quantify the hydrologic and other parameters, and their estimated uncertainties. The Book is recommended for readers from a diverse disciplines, including physical and social sciences, policy, law, engineering, and disaster management. Professor C.K. Shum, Ohio State University.