VicRes has been implemented in Phases, an approach that allows incorporation of lessons learned, gaps identified and emerging issues in development, environment and natural resources. Lake Victoria is the second largest fresh water body in the world that is endowed with enormous fresh water fishery resource. It has a total surface area of 68,870 km2 and a total catchment/basin area of 180,950 km2. The lake water is shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda but the lake basin covers parts of Kenya (21.5%), Tanzania (44%), Uganda (15.9%), Rwanda (11.4%) and Burundi (7.2%). The Lake and its basin are endowed with a variety of natural resources that are of local, regional and global benefits.

The strategic location of the lake and the geographical distribution of the basin amongst the five Partner States provide a strong reason for development cooperation among the Partner States. Lake Victoria Research Initiative (VicRes) contributes to the achievement of the cooperation through collaborative research activities that address the challenges of development, livelihoods and natural resources management. Given that sustainable development hinges on informed decisions, in 2001 the East African Partner States (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) signed an agreement with the Department for Research Cooperation of the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida/SAREC) to establish a research fund “The Lake Victoria Research Initiative (VicRes).”

In 2002 VicRes came into existence as a research programme implemented by the Inter University Council for East Africa. The programme’s core activity is to fund research in the East African region as part of the Lake Victoria Development Programme (LVDP), which focuses on environmental restoration and improvement of the livelihoods of people in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB). Since then, staff of universities, research institutions and firms involved in research has been supported to undertake multi-disciplinary, gender sensitive and regional research to enhance the scientific understanding of the poverty-environment nexus through generation and dissemination of information and technological innovations.