In spite of the huge threat it poses to sea foods and water transportation, water hyacinth has been found to be useful in many ways, reports KUNLE AKINRINADE.
It was an unusual scene at the seaside in Ipakodo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, about two months ago. For about 20 minutes, Tovishuku Shama agonised over the loss of his fishing boat to water hyacinth on the lagoon. He looked in a particular direction, staring intently at the wreck which his boat, his only source of livelihood, had become. He sighed heavily and his eyes glistened with tears.
There was nothing anyone around didn’t say to console him but he paid no attention to bystanders. As he made to speak with our reporter, the red rims of his eyes blinked and a rivulet of tears rolled down his cheeks.
For 40-year-old Shama, nothing on earth can be more traumatic than the reversal of business fortune occasioned by the damage that water hyacinth had done to his fishing boat. Lately, he has had to contend with incessant damage of his boat by the aquatic plant while foraging for fish on the lagoon and the inevitable task of fixing the outboard engine.
Wednesday December 11, 2013 had begun like any other day for the peasant fisherman, who left his home early for the sea. He had barely set out in his boat when the engine of his boat was clogged by hyacinth, aborting the trip and damaging the engine. “I am still in shock,” he said. “This is the third time in two weeks that the boat engine would be damaged by water hyacinth. Only last week, I spent N5,000 on its repairs and I am already broke.
“I had set out this morning in the hope that I would have a bountiful harvest of fish to sell, but my hope is dashed now. I had hoped to make enough money to not only celebrate Christmas but to also save enough money to defray my children’s school fees when they return to school in January. Now, my source of livelihood is being threatened with the damage done to my outboard engine by water hyacinth.”
He added: “Water hyacinth has become a nemesis to our business as fishermen. It is a perennial problem that we have been battling with without tangible assistance from the concerned authorities. Many of my colleagues have lost their outboard engines to the corrosive plant that usually assails the water for several months every year.”
Shama shared the same fate with Goriola Hammed, who operated a fishing canoe in Isheri, Ifo Local Government Area, Ogun State. The father of two, whose wife is a nursing mother, lamented his fate during an encounter with our reporter penultimate week, saying: “Water hyacinth has damaged my canoe many times this year. Underneath the plant are logs of woods that hit at a canoe unexpectedly, causing a lot of damage to it. Once that happens on the lagoon, the canoe sinks. I have had such terrible experiences but survived mainly because I could swim out of the river. ”
Setonji David, a fisherman at Oworonsoki, a Lagos suburb, wore a melancholic look during the week. Although his outboard is in good shape, his routine fishing expedition has been curtailed by water hyacinth. The situation, he said, had affected his income with no hope of finding a solution to loss of revenue.
He said: “These days, I cannot go too far to forage for fish because of the presence of water hyacinth on the lagoon. In this business, the farther you go on the lagoon the more fish you get. I cannot dare the water hyacinth because I am not prepared to lose my boat now. Besides, fish don’t survive once there is massive water hyacinth on the lagoon, hence, we no longer get plenty fish to sell nowadays.”
Effect on water transportation
Water transportation has become the saving grace for residents of Ikorodu who work on the Lagos Island. Many of them prefer to travel on water to their offices in Ebute Ero, CMS or Lekki, to beat the gridlock that characterises the Ikorodu-Mile 12 Road currently undergoing reconstruction.
However, operators of private boats in Ikorodu have had their fortune reversed by the menacing plant in recent times. Among the officially recognised jetties in the area are Metro, Ipakodo, Origin and Tarzan, among others. Since the plant surfaced last August, operators of Metro jetty were forced to move their operational base to the nearby Origin Jetty. It was not that the Origin Jetty was free of water hyacinth, but boats could still sail with little hindrance.
Our correspondent gathered that the aquatic plant easily damages the engines of the boats. A source at the Metro Jetty explained that the plant had damaged about eight engines in one month. ”We have since relocated to another jetty, Origin Jetty, nearby because our operation here is threatened by the plant,” he said.
A closer look at the jetty showed that many of the boats had been abandoned, while scrap metallic, plastic and wooden materials were packed inside some of them.
Perennial problem
Findings revealed that the plant surfaces on the waterways every August. It may remain till February of the following year if it is not cleared.
A source at the jetty, who spoke in confidence, said: “Water hyacinth surfaces in August every year and remains till February. It blocks the routes and it is with caution and difficulty that the ferries move in such a situation. A journey of 10 minutes could take more than 30 minutes, with its implications for the men and machines.
“In the morning, the plant normally covers the take-off point at the jetty. So, the ferries have difficulty navigating through these weeds (water hyacinth). As the wind changes direction, the weeds move in the middle of the lagoon. In the evening when the ferries are returning from Lagos Island back to Ikorodu, they run into them. In the process, the weeds clog the engine and it begins to overheat. Ultimately, the engine develops a problem and we may have to change it.”
Another operator, Wale Shokunbi expatiated further, saying: “There are logs of wood scattered on the waterways. Over time, the woods hide under the hyacinth. They are not usually visible to ferries’ drivers. So, on many occasions, they run into the woods covered by water hyacinth and get the engines damaged.”
Hapless victims
Speaking with The Nation, an operator, Shola Adeniji, said the emergence of the plant was one of the challenges that nature had thrown their way. She added that the Lagos State Government had been tackling the problem with little success.
She said that the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) had made attempts to clean up the hyacinth. “They come with rakes and shovels to clear this huge water hyacinth. At other times, they use their hands to pick them,” she added.
Our correspondent, indeed, sighted some men of the waste clearing agency using their hands and shovels to remove the plant on the side of the lagoon behind the newly constructed office of the Lagos State Ferry Services at Ipakodo.
Efforts made by our correspondent to speak with the authorities of LAWMA met a brick wall as the deputy spokesman of the agency, who simply identified himself as Mr. Adu, refused to speak with our reporter who contacted him on telephone. A text message sent to him by our reporter was also not returned.
Monster plant
According to the University of Florida’s Centre for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, ”Water Hyacinth is a free-floating perennial plant that can grow to a height of three feet. The dark green leave blades are circular to elliptical in shape attached to a spongy, inflated petiole. Underneath the water is a thick, heavily branched, dark fibrous root system. Water hyacinth has a striking light blue to violet flowers located on a terminal spike. Water hyacinth is a very aggressive invader and can form thick mats covering the entire surface of the water; they can cause oxygen depletions and fish death.
“Apart from hampering boat movement; these plants can take over a good fishing spot and consume the oxygen, making it very difficult to fish or for fish to survive. Water hyacinth has no known direct food value to wildlife and is considered a pest species”.
Physical/ecology problems
Far more than any other threats, water hyacinth creates humongous physical and ecological problems. A mass of water hyacinth clogs waterways, making boating, fishing and other activities on the water impossible. It degrades water quality, which in turn reduces fishing opportunities. Whenever water hyacinth takes over water, it limits the use and essentially makes it difficult for boats and swimmers. When mats of water hyacinth are formed, underwater visibility and biodiversity is significantly compromised and divers are unable to enjoy various underwater features.
From pest to wealth
Despite the threats posed by the plant to aquatic life and water transportation, it has been discovered to be a source of huge economic benefits to mankind. The plant can be converted to handcrafts, fertiliser, biogas and animal feed, among others. Sadly, Nigeria is yet to take advantage of the availability of the plant in the production of these items.
An environmental waste management expert and Chief Executive Officer of Biotechnic Waste Management Services Ltd, Lagos, Dr. Adeola Aluko, said: “Although water hyacinth is widely known for its destructive presence on water, especially to sea foods and boats, the plant has a lot of benefits and could be used to produce biogas, crafts, fertiliser and animal feeds. It is, however, sad that both state and federal governments have not been looking in the direction of the economic benefits of water hyacinth.
“In countries like China and Europe, it is now being used to produce the items that I have earlier mentioned. Indeed, it has led to the emergence of cottage industries which use the plant to produce sundry items in many advanced countries. The plant can be found in several coastal communities in Lagos State such as Ikorodu, Epe, Ojo, Owode Onirin, Oworonsoki, Lagos Lagoon, Ebute Metta, among others, and government should look into its economic benefits and tap into it.”
Commercial benefits
In 2012, Miss Ogunlana Ayotide, then a final year Higher National Diploma (HND) student of Environmental Biology at the Yaba College of Technology, showcased some handcrafts made from water hyacinth. Some of her products included slippers, bags, bangles and earrings.
She said: “Water hyacinth has become a threat and pest since it entered into the Nigerian waterways in the 1980s. It takes the plant about two weeks to cover the surface of the water and it is very difficult to eradicate. However, many people do not know that it also has commercial benefits. You can actually make so many things like fertiliser, biogas, paper pulp, soap, basket, slippers, bangles, earrings, wrist watches, fish feeds, cat feeds, etc from the plant.
“Overseas, people have been using the plant to produce many things, but in Nigeria, such has not been done in Nigeria. That is the reason why I decided to replicate the research and we found that it is true. We collected the samples used in making these products from Owode Onirin waterways, but a large portion of the plant can also be found in the Ogun River, Lagos lagoon and in many rivers in the South-West region of Nigeria.
“Government can create employment opportunities by encouraging local craft producers to make use of water hyacinth in the production of sundry products. By so doing, it would help to remove the plant from our waterways and by extension boost entrepreneurship in Nigeria. ”
Paper: It has been found to be useful in the production of paper and many small-scale papermaking cottage industries using water hyacinth have been successful in a number of countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia and India.
Fibre board: Another application of water hyacinth is the production of fiberboards for general-purpose use and also ‘bituminised’ board for use as a low cost roofing material.
Yarn and rope: The fibre from the stems of the water hyacinth plant can be used to make rope. The stalk from the plant is shredded lengthways to expose the fibres and then left to dry for several days. The rope making process is similar to that of jute rope. The finished rope is treated with sodium metabisulphite to prevent it from rotting.
In Bangladesh, the rope is used by a local furniture manufacturer who winds the rope around a cane frame to produce an elegant finished product.
Basket work: In the Philippines, water hyacinth is dried and used to make baskets and matting for domestic use. The key to a good product is to ensure that the stalks are properly dried before being used. In India, water hyacinth is also used to produce similar goods for the tourism industry. Traditional basket making and weaving skills are used.
Charcoal briquetting: This is an idea which has been proposed in Kenya to deal with the rapidly expanding carpets of water hyacinth which are evident on many parts of Lake Victoria. The proposal is to develop a suitable technology for the briquetting of charcoal dust from the pyrolysis of water hyacinth.
Biogas production: The possibility of converting water hyacinth to biogas has been an area of major interest for many years. Conversion of other organic matters, usually animal or human waste, is a well established small and medium-scale technology in a number of developing countries, notably China and India.
The process is one of anaerobic digestion which takes place in a reactor or digester, and the usable product is methane gas, which can be used as fuel for cooking, lighting or for powering an engine to provide shaft power. Other studies have been carried out, primarily in India with quantities of up to 4000 liters of gas per tonne of semi dried water hyacinth being produced with a methane content of up to 64% (Gopal, 1987).
Most of the experiments have used a mixture of animal waste and water hyacinth. There is still no firm consensus on the design of an appropriate water hyacinth biogas digester.
Animal fodder: Studies have shown that the nutrients in water hyacinth are available to ruminants. In Southeast Asia, some non-ruminant animals are fed rations containing water hyacinth. In China, pig farmers boil chopped water hyacinth with vegetable waste, rice bran, copra cake and salt to make a suitable feed. In Malaysia, fresh water hyacinth is cooked with rice bran and fish meal and mixed with copra meal as feed for pigs, ducks and pond fish.
Similar practices are much used in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The use of water hyacinth for animal feed in developing countries could help solve some of the nutritional problems that exist in these countries.
Fertilisers: Water hyacinth can be used on the land either as a green manure or as compost. As a green manure, it can be ploughed into the ground or used as mulch. The plant is ideal for composting.
After removing the plant from the water, it can be left to dry for a few days before it is mixed with ash, soil and some animal manure. Microbial decomposition breaks down the fats, lipids, proteins, sugar and starch. The mixture can be left in piles to compost, the warmer climate of tropical countries accelerating the process and producing rich pathogen-free compost which can be applied directly to the soil.
The compost increases soil fertility and crop yield and generally improves the quality of the soil. In developing countries where mineral fertiliser is expensive, it is an elegant solution to the problem of water hyacinth proliferation and also poor soil quality. In Sri Lanka, water hyacinth is mixed with organic municipal waste, ash and soil, composted and sold to local farmers and market gardeners.
Fish feed: The Chinese grass carp is a fast growing fish which eats aquatic plants. Other fishes, such as the tilapia, silver carp and the silver dollar fish are all aquatic and can be used to control aquatic weeds. The manatee or sea cow has also been suggested as another herbivore which could be used for aquatic weed control.
Water hyacinth has also been used indirectly to feed fish. Dehydrated water hyacinth has been added to the diet of channel catfish fingerlings to increase their growth. It has also been noted that the decay of water hyacinth after chemical control releases nutrients which promote the growth of phytoplankton with subsequent increases in fish yield.
Source: Faculty of Basic Sciences, University of Mazadaran, Iran.
