Mandate

The mandate of the LBDA, as stipulated in its establishing Act, includes:

•  To plan for the development of the Area and initiate project activities identified from such planning in the development area through the Government generally.

•  To develop an up-to-date long range development plan for the area.

•  To initiate such studies, and carry out such surveys of the area as may be considered necessary by the Government or the Authority and to assess alternative demands within the area on the natural resources thereof, including agriculture, (both irrigated and rain-fed) forestry, wildlife, and tourism industries, electric power generation, mining and fishing, and to recommend economic priorities.

•  To co-ordinate the various studies of schemes within the area such that human, water, animal, land and other resources are utilized to the best advantage and to monitor the design and execution of planned projects within the Area.

•  To effect a programme of both monitoring and evaluating the performance of projects within the development area so as to improve such performance and establish responsibility thereof, and to improve future planning.

•  To co-ordinate the present abstraction and use of natural resources, especially water, within the area and to set up an effective monitoring of such abstraction and usage.

•  To cause and effect the construction of any works deemed necessary for the protection and utilization of the water and soils of the area.

•  To ensure that landowners in the area undertake all the measures specified by the Authority to protect the water and soils of the area.

•  To identify, collect, collate and correlate all such data related to the use of water and other resources and also economic and related activities within the area as may be necessary for the efficient forward planning of the area.

•  To maintain a liaison between the Government, the private sector and other interested agencies in the matter of the development area with a view to limiting the duplication of effort and to ensuring the best use of the available natural resources.

•  To examine the hydrological effects and the subsequent ecological changes on the development programmes and evaluate how they affect the economic activities of the persons dependent on river and lake water environment.

•  To consider all aspects of the development of the area and its effects on the Lake inflow and outflow

•  To monitor the operations and provide technical reports on the operations of any agreement or other arrangements between Kenya and other states relating to the use of the waters of Lake Victoria or of the River Nile.