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| Ugandan fishermen pushing their boat stuck in water hyacinth at Lake Victoria SOURCE: INTERNET |
The infestation of Lake Victoria
with water hyacinth dates back to 1984, when it was first spotted in River
Kagera, which empties its water into the Lake.
Since then, water hyacinth has been
synonymous with the lake. Like the Kagera River, the lake is today chocked with
Hyacinth, which poses risk to local inhabitants by harboring crocodiles along its shores.
Scientifically referred to as Eichoirnia Crassippes, water hyacinth multiplies
to cover more than 50 hectares of a water body within two weeks. This rapid
growth is enhanced by massive disposal of industrial and sewages waste in the lake.
“Nutrients from industrial wastes, both
treated and untreated, dumped into Lake Victoria is conducive for the growth of
water Hyacinth.” Peter Kamau, an environmentalist from COSMER-LAV which
monitors the groeth from Kisumu said.
He says discharging of effluent into
the fresh water body is to be faulted for the uncontrolled growth of the exotic
weed that has now invaded the lake.
The negative impact of the weed started
to be felt in the early 90s by fishermen who largely dependent on the lake for
their livelihood. They say their standard of living with others around the lake
basin have been drastically affected which can be attributed to high number of
school dropouts increased owing to difficulties in raising funds necessary for
early childhood education.
“Water Hyacinth hindered the free
movements of boats. As a result, our daily catch gradually declined”, recalls
Joakim Otieno, a fisherman living at Dunga Beach in Kisumu.
“The weeds caused disruption to boat
riding business. What awaited the investors was the inevitable expectation of financial
instability on their part” he adds
No one talks about water hyacinth
without making mention of its infamies. However, recent studies indicate that
the floating vegetation has come to the rescue of the endangered native fish
species. To this end, the indigenous hide beneath Water Hyacinth to escape the
snares of Nile Perch which feed on them.
“Since Water Hyacinth heavily
consumes oxygen in the lake, Nile Perch cannot survive underneath it, to the
safety of the smaller fish, which can withstand a less oxygenated environment.
Water Hyacinth thus harbors the smaller fish from their predators”, remarks
Peter Kamau.
“In early 60s,” he adds, “Lake
Victoria was inhabited by over 560 species of indigenous fish. Forty years on,
only 162 have been left.”
For Kamau and other observers, the
introduction of Nile Perch and overfishing are to blame for the extinction of
these fish species. Water Hyacinth is thus instrumental in saving the remaining
endangered fish population.
A number of organizations, notably
OSIENALA (Friends of Lake Victoria) and National Environmental Management
Authority (NEMA) have come to the fore in attempting to regulate the growth of
water hyacinth so that it does not pose an obstruction to the main economic
activity of residents of the lake region.
OSIENALA strongly recommends the
reduction in disposal of industrial effluent into the fresh water body, given
that nutrients sustain the growth and multiplication of the weeds. Reading from
the same script, Mr. Omollo, an environmental science lecturer, Maseno
University, suggests that a buffer be created along the shores of the lake
where industrial wastes are discharged into the water body.
“On the buffers”, he adds,” hippo
grass should be grown to utilize the nutrients supportive of the growth of water
hyacinth. That way, the speedy growth of the unwanted plantation will have been
regulated.”
The World Bank, in collaboration
with Europe in 1988 set up a $9.3 million project, geared towards mopping up
the dreaded Water Hyacinth. In the program, local stakeholders such as Lake
Victoria Environmental Management Authority (LVEMP) were furnished with funds
necessary for eradication of the plants.
Beetles were introduced into the
lake, feeding over 12,000 hectares of water covered with the floating weeds.
Nevertheless, the beetles were
unable to phase out the weeds. These fruitless attempts have thus been met with
sharp criticisms emanating from scientists and politicians, terming them as an
exercise in futility. Scholars and researchers therefore have a task of finding
ways of redressing this phenomenom
