Some plants, when transported to non-endemic areas undergo reproduction and rapid
growth and will out-compete native plants and become weeds. These weeds then
become troublesome giving rise to socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Water
hyacinth (Eicchornia crassipes), one of such weeds is often considered the world’s
worst invasive aquatic species of weed, indigenous to the Amazon Basin of South
America and has spread over the years to various areas in Africa and Asia.
This dissertation analyses the problem of water hyacinth infestation in the Wouri
River Basin, done through the quantification of its socio-economic and
environmental impacts on riparian communities. It aims at providing information to
decision-makers and other stakeholders to assist them invest in projects geared
towards preventing its spread thereby reducing the impacts on the riparian
communities.
The riparian communities are identified and data on the socioeconomic and
environmental impacts of water hyacinth are collected through focus group
discussions and interviews. The data are then presented and analysed.
Furthermore, the various available methods of control are examined taking into
account the benefits and setbacks of each method. Finally, a suitable strategy for the
control of water hyacinth in the Wouri River Basin is proposed. The method shows
that the total lost benefits of the communities due to water hyacinth infestations,
outweigh the cost of implementing the appropriate control measures; hence justifies
the need for urgent measures to be taken to manage water hyacinth in the Wouri
River Basin.