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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

WasteMoney: Water Hyacinth Eradication

(
Private sector
)
#SDGAction43575
Description
Description
We are addressing the issue of the invasive water hyacinth in a positive manner. The view of water hyacinth as a problematic weed has precluded investment in its possible positive socio-economic benefits. The main barrier to overcome has been the negative attitudes towards water hyacinth andlack of funding to address its removal from water bodies. Financial incapacitation of the local municipal government has resulted in high phosphate and nitrate concentrations in wastewater, supercharging the growth of this aquatic weed. Water bodies downstream have been completely taken over by the water hyacinth resulting disappearance of fish that surrounding communities depended on for food and income. We came across the use of nature-based solutions in wastewater treatment(reed beds), which will also be deployed.
Expected Impact

Climate change has resulted in poor grazing lands and the loss of a large number of cattle to drought. By making water hyacinth stock feed, we aim to reduce the number of cattle deaths thereby protecting the livelihoods of farmers. The use of science to address a water-related problems while leveraging the manpower of unemployed youths will be a major win for this initiative. This will give the youths a way to earn a living and wean them from dependency syndrome while at the same time giving the environment a fighting chance. Additionally, exposing the nearby community to Biogas will hopefully lead to them adopting it more widely.

Partners
Silwane Nature Reserve and Conservancy
False
Action Network
SDG Acceleration Actions
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Timeline
25 April 2020 (start date)
31 December 2020 (date of completion)
Entity
WasteMoney (Private) Limited
SDGs
15 7 6 2 1
Region
  1. Africa
Geographical coverage
Bulawayo,Zimbabwe
Website/More information
N/A
Countries
N/A
Contact Information

Mthokozisi Mzingaye Moyo, CEO