Recent studies indicate Lake Victoria has lost significant surface area since 1984, with both climatic and anthropogenic drivers contributing to this decline. Reduced rainfall directly impacts water levels while simultaneously altering vegetation patterns across the basin—changes that critically influence the lake’s catchment dynamics. For the Lake Victoria Basin (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi), the interplay between climate variability and human development has transformed vegetation patterns, though their spatiotemporal characteristics remain poorly quantified. Understanding these changes is essential for evidence-based environmental policy and sustainable management across the region.