Articles Nature and Conservation Food For Thought - Water Hyacinth in the Kubusie River
| Food For Thought - Water Hyacinth in the Kubusie River |
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From a tourism perspective the unpopular Water Hyacinth, can turn our crafts markets around with a twist. Including furniture such as beds, chairs, frames, bowl and tables. These are some of the vast range of opportunities this water alien can be used in many positive ways. Introduced as an ornamental plant to South Africa in the early 1900’s, the water hyacinth originates from the Amazon basin. Unfortunately this beautiful species is now considered the world’s worst water weed by the World Conservation Union. The hyacinth grows best in warm and humid conditions and in water with high nutrient levels, especially from agricultural fertilizers, animal and human waste. It flourishes in still and shallow water and under favourable conditions, it is capable of doubling its volume every 12 days. The seeds produced can lie dormant for 15 years only germinating under the right environment. It can root itself to the soil, or float freely forming a solid mat. It is this floating mat that blocks the sunlight from the water, smothering indigenous plants, which in turn deprives animals or birds of their favored foods. When the mat completely covers the surface it causes oxygen depletion which kills the fish and normal spawning areas vanish. In no time at all the ecosystem of a river bed or dam is totally changed. In the Florida Everglades the Snail Kite (Rostrhamus Sociabilis) is endangered partly due to the fact that its favorite food source, the apple snail, has literally died out because the hyacinth has smothered the plants that it lives on. In warmer climates, the mat of hyacinth becomes a perfect breeding area for mosquitoes and also the snail species that are intermediate hosts for bilharzias, one of the world’s worst parasitic diseases. For the last 10 years, the Kubusie River has been plagued by the growth of water hyacinth. Spraying herbicides has been tried, but in many cases the spray has killed native plants and the hyacinth has survived. Biological control has been experimented with and several areas in South Africa have had a reasonable to good success rate, but with our low temperatures, many of the introduced insects do not survive the winter There has been a boom placed across the Kubusie River where it enters Wriggleswade Dam but perhaps we should put in a few more at strategic spots along the river which would allow for easy access to harvest. In many countries where hyacinth is rampant, the plant is collected and used as fodder, although some consider it harmful as the plant has the ability to absorb high levels of toxins. In India it is being used as biomass to fuel rural homes and provide biogas for stoves instead of cutting down of trees. In Asia the hyacinth stem is treated and dried and used for crafts and the making of furniture. At present experiments on waste water treatments are being conducted due to the fast growth of the plant and its ability to tolerate high levels of pollution. Perhaps if we are unable to eradicate the Water Hyacinth in our river, we should be looking at ways of utilizing it. |