Lake Victoria: Water weeds my best friends. Humans my worst enemy.

On a recent vacation trip to my rural home in Awasi, I took sometime off and traveled to the lake side city of Kisumu to link up with a long lost friend of mine - Mr. Omiti.

Omiti and I have been great buddies since our days as undergrad students at Maseno University where we both studied Environment Science. Having not set eyes on one another for close to four years since our graduation, this meeting was one of a kind and had to be treated as that.

So we met and I suggested we go have some fish delicacy at Lwang'ni beach, but my friend being a resident of Kisumu hinted to me that Lwang'ni is no longer what it used to be and that if we were still to go that way we'd rather pick on Tilapia beach (a lake shore bar cum restaurant not far away from Lwang'ni).

In no minute we had a deal. And with all the excitement, we jumped into a tuk tuk(Auto Rickshaw) and headed straight to Tilapia beach. Life was beaming at the beach. My friend had brought along two of his girl friends. We had great time. The fish was as delicious as ever.

However, in the midst of all the joy and entertainment, something struck my heart. The sight of a Lake covered under a mat of Water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) and hippo grass (Vossia cuspidata). A sight foreigners or first time visitors would not find appalling. But because I did my undergrad around the Lake and we used to come for fish delicacies along Lwang'ni beach, I knew what the Lake shore used to be like. And seeing the same shore, about four years down the line, in the state we found it on this very day was really something perplexing, at least for me.

I found it hard to believe that I went to the Lake but never set my eyes on its water. Not that the Lake is dry, but because the section of the shore where we were was all covered in thick mat of water hyacinth spreading to about 800 meters into the Lake. Of this, about 200 meters from the shore into the Lake was covered by a mixture of hippo grass and Water hyacinth (that seemed to whither).

Water hyacinth floats on water but hippo grass doesn't. Hippo grass grows on soil and depends on its roots to take up nutrients from the soil, usually on the shallow bed of a wetland, for its survival. This in my opinion may explain why the hippo grass flourished only up to about 200 meters into the shore and also why the Water hyacinth seemed to whither as they approached the shore covered in hippo grass.  

About eight years ago, and my friend as well as local residents can confirm this, there were lots of recreational activities around Lwang'ni beach. These included boat rides for kids who usually came with their families to appreciate the beauty and serenity that the Lake environment offered. One can no longer find such services around Lwang'ni beach because it is all hippo grass and Water hyacinth. One would mistake it for a large sugarcane plantation.


As an Environmentalist with knowledge of freshwater ecology, when I saw the acreage of hippo grass and Water hyacinth that had covered the Lake, two things became apparent to me. One was that the Lake has become disturbingly shallow. And two, that the Lake is excessively fertile (read high nitrogen and phosphorus levels).

Lake Victoria is the largest fresh water Lake in Africa and the second largest in the World after Lake Superior in Northern United States of America. It is also the largest tropical Lake in the World.


The Lake is fed by several major rivers across the east African region. Some of which are River Kagera, River Yala, River Nzoia, River Sondu-Miriu and River Nyando.

All these Rivers originate from East Africa's highland regions which are beaming with agricultural activities. The fertilizer used in these agricultural plantations find its way into the streams as leachate and are eventually deposited in the Lake. It is this fertilizer that enriches the Lake and makes it conducive for the survival of the Water hyacinth.


Other sources of Lake fertilization may include faulty sewage treatment plant(s) which empty raw or semi-treated sewage into the Lake, and small time pollution by the restaurants/fish kiosks dotting the Lake's shore among others.

Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) I, a World Bank funded project aimed at achieving sustainable management of Lake Victoria's ecosystem and implemented by the three East African states of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania was initiated in 1992. Tackling the Water hyacinth menace was top on the agenda. Methods employed included both biological and mechanical interventions.


By the time LVEMP I was wrapping up in 2005, the total acreage of Water hyacinth mat covering the Lake had been substantially reduced. Uganda  and Tanzania had achieved the greatest reduction, while Kenya had the least achievement. This may partly explain why Water hyacinth is still a great threat to fishing and transportation in Kenya's Lake Victoria and by extension a threat to the livelihood of the Lake's riparian communities.

In a discussion with my friend, who is at the moment pursuing a Master degree in Environmental Science at our alma mater, he informed me that LVEMP phase II is underway. We all hope there'll be something to show for it once it goes full cycle and that it wont be riddled with embezzlement of funds like its predecessor, at least in the Kenyan case.


Other than LVEMP, several other interventions have been brought forth in an attempt to solve the puzzle that is Water hyacinth. These have ranged from manual removal of the weed from the lake shores by riparian communities to exploitation for other economic purposes like basketry and making of furniture.


Despite all these attempts the water hyacinth menace has remained persistent over the years.


It is my considered opinion that the situation has remained the same all this while because of several reasons but most importantly because of wrong approach taken in tackling the problem. All intervention measures taken so far have tended to tackle the symptoms of the problem while completely giving leap service to the real culprit i.e. the cause(s).


The main reason why the Water hyacinth and hippo grass are flourishing at the levels they are now, is because the Lake water is highly fertile and immensely sedimented.


Therefore, any attempt to address the Water hyacinth/hippo grass menace, if it is to be successful, should aim at first tackling the phenomenon that is Lake fertility and sedimentation. It is only when these two are properly addressed that the menace will be put under full control.


It is worth pointing out that Water hyacinth and hippo grass are not a "curse" to the Lake. As a matter of fact, the two weeds are a blessing in disguise which we need to embrace while tackling the real problems that include deforestation, unsustainable agriculture and pollution.


On that warm Sunday afternoon, when I set my eyes on the Lake choking in large acreage of Water hyacinth mats and hippo grass, for a  moment there my heartbeat rate slowed down. The Lake seemed to converse with me. It seemed to be telling me that "hey there...they (water hyacinth and hippo grass) are not my problem. In fact, they are my best friends as they are removing the toxins that your kind (humans) has forced down my throat. Your kind is my greatest enemy."
  

Dustbins alone are not enough

Last week Kenya's environmental watchdog - National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) - embarked on a campaign aimed at curbing waste menace emanating from the public transport industry known locally as matatu industry.

NEMA's move though noble and coming just at the right time, it is my considered opinion that it will achieve very little if the citizens are not educated on the essence of being eco-conscious.

With or without dustbins our matatus can still be clean only if we the wananchi became aware of the negativities of littering our surrounding. Imagine a situation where every person stopped to think of the would be impact(s) of their every little action before committing such acts.

To bring my point home, I wish to share a brief  personal story about my experience with our public transport industry.

Sometime back I set out to go to Kisumu travelling in one of the main coaches (that I would not mention here) plying the Nairobi-Kisumu route. These specific coaches are considerably environment friendly relative to most of the other players in the industry and "Kenyan standards"; that's why I do prefer them. Among other measures, they have a dustbin strategically placed next to the passengers' entrance/exit door.
In the course of the journey somewhere around Naivasha area, a fellow traveler (a man probably in his late 30s or early 40s) seated close to the window about two seats ahead of me stood up from his seat and was trying to open the window so that...and hear this...he could throw a packet of yoghurt (which I assumed he had just finished drinking) outside.
Before he could do it  I called out for him. I said "Hey! please don't throw it out through the window. There's a dustbin there in front where you need to dump it or better still give it to me I will take it for you."
I expected the guy to be challenged in a positive way, but I was wrong. Instead of taking it to the dustbin or giving it to me like I had suggested, he in protest opened the window and threw the packet out closed the window then sat down.
For a moment I heard the other travelers mumble then into the thin air their mumbles slowly dissipated. I didn't say anything to the guy thereafter. But we engaged in some discussion with my seat mate about what had just happened. He loathed the guy's action just like I did. I believe the guy learnt a lesson but was just to proud to admit it. Probably he had his family in the bus and felt embarrassed and just wanted to show he is still in charge. Who knows? But one thing is certain, next time he will think twice before pulling off such a stunt.

From the foregoing you will realize that lack of dustbin is not really the problem, but the problem is the mindset of the individual citizen(s) who - unfortunately - in most instances fail to contemplate the impact(s) of their actions to the environment.

 Plate 1: Polythene bags and milk packets thrown by the roadside.

Our constitution gives every citizen the right to a clean and healthy environment as well as a collective duty to ensure such a right is respected and upheld at all times. Every Kenyan citizen should be made aware of this as matter of public interest.

Therefore, while I support NEMA's move to have dustbins installed in all matatus I wish to also root for a comprehensive and extensive civic education program aimed at inculcating eco-consciouness among the Kenyan people. This way I believe we will have a more responsible citizenry that is keen on caring about the environment.

Kosgey's gesture a welcome move.

The late legendary American football coach - Paul William "Bear" Bryant - once said, "when you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it and do not repeat it."

Hon. Henry Kosgey's gesture, in my opinion, is a most welcome move.

Public officers should not only learn the art of owning up whenever they have tripped, but they should also get it in their head that corruption, disregard of the law (whether outright or ignorantly), favoratism, cronism and tribalism/nepotism are the greatest enemies of progress and merit in any given society.