Management of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, in Lake Victoria Basin
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Date
2004
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Show full item recordAbstract
Water hyacinth is a free-floating waterweed native to theAmazon River Basin in South America. In its native range,water hyacinth is not an environmental problem, althoughthe weed is one of the most invasive alien plants infreshwater environments. Water hyacinth has the potentialto become invasive through fast vegetative reproductionand rapid growth to accumulate huge biomass and extensive cover in freshwater environments.Over the last 150 years water hyacinth has invaded most countries in the tropics and sub-tropics, introduced by man, mainly for ornamental purposes. Such introductions led to the infestation of most freshwater-ways in the southern United States of America, parts of Australia, the pacific islands, and most countries in Asia and Africa.The extensive tightly packed mats of water hyacinth are often associated with devastating socio-economic and environmental impacts. Invasion by the weed has, therefore, often generated urgent costly problems associated with the weed biomass and its management. A classic example of such problems was triggered by the invasion and proliferation of water hyacinth in the Lake Victoria Basin during the 1980s (Freilink 1989, Taylor 1993, Twongo et al., 1995). The weed infestation marked the beginning of a decade of intensive and systematic campaign by the three riparian states (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) to bring weed proliferation under control. The discussions in this Chapter span over ten years of dealing with the challenges paused by the imperative to manage infestations of water hyacinth in the Lake Victoria Basin. The challenges included the need to understand the dynamics of water hyacinth infestation; its distribution, proliferation and impact modalities; and the development and implementation of appropriate weed controlstrategies and options. Most specific examples were taken from the Ugandan experience (NARO, 2002).Issue/Article Nr
2Page Range
187-204Pages
321Title of Parent Book or Report
Challenges for management of the fisheries resources, biodiversity and environment of Lake VictoriaPublisher or University
National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI)Series : Nr
Fisheries Resources Research Institute Technical Report