ADDIS ABABA – Basins Development Authority reaffirmed its commitment to save Lake Tana and other water bodies from water hyacinth through applying strengthened approach.
Authority Echo-hydrology Director Yohannes Zerihun told The Ethiopian Herald that the national preparation has been finalized to reinforce efforts to remove water weed from Lake Tana and other water bodies after finding out absence of strategic document and low integrated efforts to the spread of the hyacinth.
Therefore, currently the strategic document is prepared and various steering committees that comprised intended bodies are organized at federal and regional level, he said.
Accordingly, various stakeholders including institutions, experts and partners among others are incorporated in the committees, he stated. As to him, the strategic document that comprised about 12 directives has been prepared to conserve Lake Tana and other water bodies of the country to next budget year.
He noted that directives include avoiding the weed manually, mechanically and biologically. There is also a plan to apply remote sensing tools and drone technology to avoid the weed in remote areas, he indicated. According to him, prevention, early detection and water bank management is included in the directives so that the water will keep safe from any disposals and other ingredients that affect the wellbeing of water bodies.
Therefore, reducing agricultural nutrients, industrial pollutions are also listed. In addition, creating free zones of land areas around the water bodies is also among the directives, Yohannes disclosed.
Awareness raising programs would be organized to the surrounding society and urban dwellers that used to release disposals to the lake, he mentioned.
Similarly, using the weed for various purposes including as biogas and fertilizer is among the plan. To this end, the authority has drawn a lesson from OCP Group, a Moroccan organization working on fertilizer production, he announced.
Moreover, close cooperation among stakeholders, monitoring and evaluating activities would be undertaken to realize the efforts, he capitalized.
“We have also agreed with UNESCO to get technical support especially in manpower trainings to the project.” The efforts undertaking by various stakeholders to remove the hyacinth from Lake Tana are not bringing the expected result, was learnt.
The Ethiopian Herald, August 13/2019
BY YOHANES JEMANEH
Photo:- File
