Impacts of Water Hyacinth Invasion on Lake Tana

Asnake Demena

Introduction
At an altitude of 1840 meters above sea level, Lake Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia, with a
surface area of 3,673km2. Lake Tana is a shallow lake with a maximum depth of 14 meters, but the
average depth is 8 meter. Around, 40 rivers and streams flow into Lake Tana from its large
surrounding watershed area of about 15,000 km2. The lake is one of Africa's most unique wetland
ecosystems and the source of 50 percent of Ethiopia's freshwater, located in the Amhara region of
north-western part of the Ethiopian Highland. The unique wetland ecosystems around Lake Tana has
a high level of biological diversity and support many endemic animal and plants species.
According to a study conducted by NABU in 2012, Lake Tana is internationally recognized as
an Important Bird Area (IBA). Its wetlands provide a habitat for many endemic and migratory bird
species which depend on the area for feeding, nesting and roosting. Due to its location at the horn of
Africa, the lake is an important stopover and wintering site for many migratory birds on the flyway
between Europe, Asia and Africa. The marshes and shallow areas of the lake are some of the most
important wintering areas for Central and Northern European migratory bird species. Rare bird
species such as the endemic Wattled Crane and Black-crowned Crane also use the wetlands
surrounding the lake. Vast undisturbed reedbeds serve as breeding, feeding and roosting sites for
these resident crane species and are essential for their survival.
Furthermore, Lake Tana is well known for its unique concentration of endemic fish species
due to the lake's isolation from other water bodies separated by the Tis Abay falls. Approximately
70% of the 67 different fish species recorded in Lake Tana are endemic and the lake is home to the
only remaining intact flock of Barbus fish in the world. Hippopotamuses, and reptiles like the Nile
Crocodile and Nile Monitor also populate the lake and its surrounding areas. Papyrus, one of the
characteristic features of Lake Tana, grows along the lake's shoreline. There are a few patches of
original forest vegetation that have been protected by churches and monasteries in the area. These
remnant church forests are islands of biodiversity, providing refuge for over 100 tree and plant
species, many of them indigenous and rare. These sites are invaluable pools of genetic resources for
example of wild coffee and field crop varieties. Lake Tanas global importance originates not only
from biodiversity perspective but from hydro-politics point of view, being the source of the Blue Nile
River.
Besides these, Lake Tana area has a unique cultural, historical and aesthetic value with
numerous monasteries and churches dating back to the 13th century. Culturally, the lake is very
important as it is home to many unique churches and monasteries of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church; some date back to the 13th century. These churches and monasteries contain
valuable treasures of the Ethiopian Christian faith. In general, Lake Tana is a mystical place where
time and history run deep. For these reasons, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) designated the Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve in 2014. Given the scenarios
discussed above, this article explores environmental and socioeconomic impacts of Water Hyacinth
invasion on Lake Tana. The article also suggests ways to overcome the invasion of the lake.

Origin of Water Hyacinth

It is widely reported that water hyacinth is indigenous to Brazil having been first described
from wild plants collected from the Francisco River in 1824 (Monsanto, 1996). On the African
continent, water hyacinth was first reported in Egypt in 1879; in South Africa in 1908; Zimbabwe in
1937; Sudan in 1957; Senegal in 1964; Nigeria in 1983 and Uganda in 1987 (Makhanu, 1997). It is
now popularly believed that water hyacinth entered Lake Tana in 2011. After being recognized in
September 2011, water hyacinth invaded 50 percent of Lake Tana, despite the fact that the lake is
important for the regions inhabitants through the supply of drinking water, power generation,
fisheries and food security, transportation, and provision of other ecological goods and services. The
Lake Tana basin supports a population of more than 3 million people. The question is: how did
Water Hyacinth get to Lake Tana? And why did the TPLF regime neglected the invasion of the lake
with this dangerous weed? Answering these questions didnt require detail analysis: there are only
two possibilities for Water Hyacinth to enter into Lake Tana, either by the TPLF regime itself or by
the Egyptian government. Since it is part of the biopolitics of water and Lake Tana is located in the
so-called Amhara region, it is intentional for the TPLF regime to neglect the infestation of the Lake
for the last 6 years.

Negative impacts of Water Hyacinth

Water Hyacinth is one of the most dangerous weeds on earth. It poses serious socioeconomic and
environmental problems for millions of people in riparian communities and is, therefore, an added
constraint on development. It has a strong capacity for propagation, especially in eutrophic water
bodies with plenty of nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus (Bricker et al., 1999). Water
hyacinth takes between 6 and 28 days to double in weight, and between 4 and 58 days to double in
number based on field measurements; and a mat of medium sized plants may contain 2 million
plants per hectare that weigh 270 to 400 tons (Epstein, 1998). This spontaneous propagation of
water hyacinth can result in detrimental effects, including exhausting oxygen in water, interfering
with navigation, recreation, irrigation, and power generation, which in turn may have negative
effects on the environment, human health and economic development (Epstein, 1998).
The socio-economic effects of water hyacinth are dependent on the extent of the invasion,
the uses of the impacted water body, control methods and the response to control efforts.
Ecosystem-level research programmes that simultaneously monitor the effects of water hyacinth on
multiple trophic-levels are needed to further our understanding of invasive species. Water hyacinth
is very difficult to eradicate by physical, chemical, and biological means, and a substantial amount is
spent on their control annually throughout the world. It is also a very sturdy species. It cause
blockage of irrigation channels affecting the flow of water to fields, making fishing difficult, and
almost makes any place inhabitable and inaccessible. They may block hydroelectric turbines causing
enormous damage, which are vital for economy and green environment. They out-compete almost
all other species growing in their vicinity thereby decreasing biodiversity (Crafter et al. 1992). They
destroy the beauty of a given place, and sometimes can be a breeding ground for disease causing
insects and pests. They also can accelerate the process of evaporation from water bodies. They tend
to absorb nutrients quickly thus making the ecosystems less fertile.
There is a great discrepancy among policy makers, environmental agencies and research
scientists on the way to control this invasive species and the practical benefits that can be obtained
(Lu et al. 2008). There is a need for sustainability and a new perspective when it comes to managing
this species and understanding and implementing their marketability as an ornamental or in their
alternative products or as a newly found biofuel crop. A recent study conducted by Goraw and
Shimelis (2017), revealed that while researchers continue to investigate the perceived potential uses
of water hyacinth, the current negative impacts of the weed far outweigh its benefits. The use of
water hyacinth as raw material in cottage industry should not encourage propagation of the weed,
but rather help to control its growth. Changing land use practices in the catchment communities
through watershed management will help to reduce agricultural runoff as a mechanism for
controlling the proliferation of water hyacinth. This is considered by many as one of the most
sustainable long-term management actions. The key issue to be addressed is lowering of the
nutrient level in the water bodies. This is to say that appropriate standards must be observed for the
dumping of both industrial and domestic wastes into receiving waters. The high level of sediments in
the Inflow Rivers should also be reduced by implementing a number of sedimentation control
measures such as proper farming methods and construction of sediment trap reservoirs.

Summary
The Environmental and socio-economic impacts of water hyacinth are dependent on the
extent of the invasion, the uses of the impacted water body, control methods and the response to
control efforts. Ecosystem-level research programmes that simultaneously monitor the effects of
water hyacinth on multiple trophic-levels are needed to further our understanding of invasive
species. It is clear from the foregoing that water hyacinth is one weed which man had better do
away with. Three of the methods have been discussed and adopted in various regions in the world:
mechanical, chemical and biological removal.
In Ethiopia, mechanical removal has been tried by the local community. However, the
ongoing and accelerating spread of weed infestation indicates that the region has been unable to
control the invasion. As a result, 50 percent of the lake already invaded by this notorious weed.
Therefore, I strongly suggest that the need for launching Lake Tana Biosphere Initiative to assess the
extent of the water-hyacinth problem across the region. The initiative should have the following
specific aims:
To identify the main bottlenecks impeding effective control of water hyacinth in Lake Tana;
To increase awareness of the spread and negative socioeconomic impact of water-hyacinth
infestations in the region; and
To stimulate the search for effective mechanisms for water-hyacinth management in the region.

Refrences:-
Bricker et al., (1999). National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment: Effects of Nutrient Enrichment
in the Nations Estuaries.

Crafter et al. (1992). Wetlands of Kenya: proceedings of the KWWG Seminar on Wetlands of Kenya

Epstein, (1998).Weeds bring disease to the east African waterways

G. Goshu and S. Aynalem, (2017). Problem Overview of the Lake Tana Basin

K. S. Makhanu, (1997). Impact of water hyacinth on Lake Victoria

Lu et al. (2008).Performance of a water hyacinth system in the treatment of wastewater from a duck
farm and the effects of using water hyacinth as duck feed

Monsanto, (1996). The Integrated Control & Management of Water Hyacinth

Heide, Z. F. (2012). Feasibility Study for a Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia
Map of Lake Tana showing watershed, wetlands and church forests (source: Heide, 2012).