HARNESSING ST&I FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN LAKE VICTORIA BASIN

This month the Lake Victoria Basin held their 3^rd  conference under the theme Harnessing Research for Sustainable Development of the Lake Victoria Basin. I presented a keynote on Harnessing ST&I for Sustainable Development in Lake Victoria Basin. Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) are recognized globally as key driver of economic development. Technological innovation is key in turning scientific and technological knowledge into goods and services to boost economic development. There is need to integrate ST&I in production and service sectors.

I advocate for effective system for innovation, technology adoption, diffusion and transfer for use of ST&I as a tool for national development and international competitiveness.

The East African Community (EAC) must harnesses science, technology and innovation, these nations will be at a greater position to foster national prosperity and global competitiveness. This will therefore boost creation of wealth creation and achievement of a high quality of life for its people within its boundaries.

For example, ST&I have made our lives easier through the use of medical supplies and other things, such as cellphones. We are also reaping the benefits of computers right now by finding the answer to our question. A science such as seismology (the study of earthquakes) has helped us to know when an earthquake is coming and where would be a safe place to escape to. It can also help to build more earthquake-resistant buildings by studying how the waves move and how to counteract them to avoid destruction. There is also need to identify and subsequently review research and innovation priority areas for the benefit of the region.

Strategies that should be enforced includes Public Private Partnerships. This will give a variation of Privatization in which elements of a service previously run solely by the public sector are provided through a partnership between the government and one or more private sector companies. Enough resources should be allocated to ST&I sector. I have been advocating for not less than 1% of GDP.

Climate change, biodiversity loss of freshwater ecosystems, invasion by Hyacinth, diseases & malnutrition, human resource capacity and weak national innovation systems are some of the major challenges that the Lake Victoria Basin is facing.

To curb these challenges, a number of strategies have been put into place which includes; developing explicit national innovation policies and investment frameworks in R&D, increasing and sustaining funding on ST&I for competitiveness, setting up centers of excellence to strengthen R&D capacity, increasing investment in science, engineering and entrepreneur skills and Capacity building.

Within the Lake Victoria Basin, there is need for utilizing new technologies such as remote-sensing and satellite technology to monitor and manage water resources. Low cost technologies for water delivery can also be implemented and an adverse investment in Human resources development by the EAC.

There is need of enhancing Multi-stakeholders initiatives to deliver programs and services in the region. Building trust and confidence in capability and capacities to provide long-lasting benefits to the local community both from social perspective and from economic development angle

It is also important to establish more learning and dialogue platforms for communication and outreach impact. Above all continuous dialogue between Scientists and Policy makers must be initiated.

Moreover, recognized institutional frameworks for diverse actors and stakeholders engaged in pursuit of sustainable development in finance, trade, technology transfer, as mutually agreed