The hotel that I stayed in last week in Kisumu, Kenya boasted a lake view.

Well there was a view, all right but you could not see any water. The whole of Kisumu Bay is covered in Water Hyacinth, a species introduced into the Lake Victoria ecosystem in the 1980’s. It has taken over some parts of the lake, clogging up any boat access to the shore, thus disrupting fishing and transport of goods by water.

When I looked out across the bay it appeared like a green field. There may be some benefit to smaller fish that can hide in the roots of the plant and thus escape another introduced species, the Nile Perch. It can cause deoxygenation of the water, however, which is another negative effect for the ecology of the lake.

I wonder if there will be some process found to make use of this pest, as compost, fertilizer or even to produce biogas!