NAIVASHA, Kenya — For those who rely on fishing as their livelihood, nothing is more disheartening than spending a long day on the lake, only to return empty-handed. Recently, a group of fishermen found themselves stranded on the widely frequented Lake Naivasha for over 18 hours, attributing their misfortune to the water hyacinth, which has significantly overrun portions of the lake.
“They did not foresee that the hyacinth would later entangle them,” said fellow fisherman Simon Macharia. Tragically, the fishermen even lost their nets amidst the invasive greenery.
The water hyacinth, which originates from South America, was reportedly introduced to Kenya in the 1980s by tourists who intended to use it as an ornamental plant. According to Gordon Ocholla, an environmental scientist at Mount Kenya University, this invasive species first appeared on Lake Naivasha about a decade ago and has since morphed into dense mats that blanket vast sections of the lake, posing a severe threat to local fishers’ livelihoods.
The prevalence of water hyacinth is often connected to pollution; it flourishes in contaminated waters and proliferates rapidly. Noted as the most invasive aquatic plant globally, water hyacinth obstructs sunlight and hampers airflow, adversely impacting the aquatic ecosystem’s health.
This rampant increase in water hyacinth has led to a notable decline in fish populations within Lake Naivasha and other afflicted areas. A study published in the East African Journal of Environment and Natural Resources in 2023 indicated that water hyacinth infestations in Kenyan lakes — including Lake Victoria, the continent’s largest lake — result in annual losses ranging from $150 million to $350 million in the fishing, transport, and tourism industries.
The fishermen at Lake Naivasha are acutely aware of this situation. “Before, we would catch up to 90 kilograms (198 pounds) of fish daily, but now we only get between 10 to 15 kilograms,” Macharia lamented. Consequently, their daily earnings have plummeted from $210 to a mere $35.
Despite their efforts to combat the water hyacinth invasion, they have seen little success. “It regrows faster than we can remove it,” Macharia remarked.
Experts suggest various methods to address the issue, including physically removing the plants or introducing organisms that consume water hyacinth. Chemical options exist too, although their use could jeopardize other aquatic life. Attempts to convert the invasive plant into a beneficial commodity have been made as well.
Macharia noted that the government had established a biogas facility near the lake intended to process the hyacinth, but it has yet to become operational for reasons unknown to him.
Recently, the fishermen partnered with a local start-up to transform water hyacinth into biodegradable packaging material. HyaPak, initiated in 2022 as a project at Egerton University, focuses on creating environmentally sustainable packaging solutions.
HyaPak founder Joseph Nguthiru explained that the project aims to tackle two issues simultaneously: the water hyacinth infestation and the plastic waste crisis. “We aim to use one problem, the hyacinth, to combat the issue of plastic waste pollution,” he states, attributing his inspiration for the project to a challenging field trip where he and his classmates were stuck on Lake Naivasha.
This innovative collaboration involves about 50 fishermen, including Macharia, who gather the water hyacinth and sun-dry it for a negotiable fee. The material is then transported to the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute in Nairobi, where it is mixed with various proprietary additives and processed into biodegradable paper.
HyaPak aims to service the agricultural sector by producing compostable bags for seedlings. These bags are designed to degrade over time, enriching the soil with nutrients that benefit plant growth.
Currently, HyaPak processes up to 150 kilograms of water hyacinth weekly, resulting in the production of approximately 4,500 biodegradable packages. Experts, however, caution that scaling up these initiatives presents a considerable challenge. “While solutions from start-ups like HyaPak may be promising, their effectiveness hinges on whether they can be expanded to match the invasive nature of water hyacinth,” warned Ocholla, highlighting the persistent struggle against this environmental crisis.
