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MEKARN Workshop 2009: Livestock, Climate Change and the Environment |
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an alien, floating water weed that has spread throughout vital freshwater bodies and wetlands of Africa and the Middle East since the late 1800s. It poses serious socioeconomic and environmental problems for millions of people in riparian communities and is, therefore, an added constraint on development. Recent studies in the Mekong delta have shown that it could be used for many purposes for improving income and livelihood of farmers by producing biogas and electricity, organic fertilizers, handicraft products, mushroom, ruminant feed sources, and reducing the water pollution. Therefore water hyacinth could be used beneficially for human being, however, it should be comprehensively studied with different areas and strategies to enhance the usefulness.