A new environmental documentary has highlighted the growing pollution threatening Lake Victoria, Africa largest lake as journalists from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda investigate the damage caused by gold mining, palm oil plantations, pesticides and sewage.
Titled “Ziwa Victoria (Part 2): Tainting the Shores”, the 25 minute episode is the third instalment of Giving Nature a Voice a documentary series produced by filmmakers in East Africa. It is now streaming on the environmental documentary platform The Green Channel.
Lake Victoria is shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and supports millions of people who depend on it for food, employment and drinking water. A 2023 research overview published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research estimated that more than 42 million people rely on the lake as their primary source of food, work and drinking water.
The documentary examines how human activities along the shoreline are contributing to the lake’s deterioration. Indigenous rainforests have been replaced by palm oil plantations, artisanal gold mining is releasing mercury, pesticides are being used without adequate control and sewage is flowing into the water. According to the film these sources of pollution contribute to oxygen depletion and the spread of water hyacinth, an invasive plant that is increasingly choking the lake.
Peter Mireri of Friends of Lake Victoria warns in the film that failure to address pollution and climate change could have devastating consequences for the lake’s future.
The documentary features people directly affected by the changes, including palm oil farmer Joseph Kibelu, gold miners Simon Nuru and Joram Mwakatika, fisherman Davies Ojijo and cotton farmer Agnes Kimoga. Environmentalists, water specialists and scientists also share their perspectives on the lake’s condition and the challenges involved in protecting it.
Anthony Munyanho, a fisheries scientist at Uganda’s National Fisheries Resources Research Institute, says communities around the lake once followed rules designed to protect it but are increasingly disregarding them. He stresses that the lake’s future will depend on whether people return to more responsible practices.
The film also explores potential solutions to protect Lake Victoria and restore its environmental health.
Scott Renyard, founder of The Green Channel, said the documentary brought together journalists from the three countries that share the lake to investigate the problems facing shoreline communities. He said the platform aims to produce investigative environmental documentaries that alert the public to ecological threats and encourage decision-makers to take action.
The episode was directed written, produced and filmed by Benj Binks, with reporting by Amanda Fisher, Simon Achola and Emmah Omuke from Kenya, Mnaku Mbani from Tanzania, and Edward Bindhe from Uganda. Andrew Tkach of the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications served as executive producer. The music was provided by AIC (T) Makongoro and Vijana Choir, Mwanza.
The episode follows “Ziwa Victoria (Part 1): Searching for Fish” and “Water to Dust”, the series’ first episode which focused on Lake Turkana.
Giving Nature a Voice is available on The Green Channel a Canadian streaming platform dedicated to environmental documentaries.