Browsing by Author "Mbula, Mercy"

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    Impacts of water hyacinth on socio-economic activities on Kafubu river in the copperbelt province: a case study of Ndola District, Zambia
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2016) Mbula, Mercy
    Water hyacinth is one of the top 10 worst aquatic weeds characterized by large vegetative reproduction output and has been a major problem in Kafubu River since the 1990s due to nutrients offload from anthropogin activities, causing various impacts on the socio-economic activities. Therefore the aim of this study was to assess the impacts of water hyacinth on major socio-economic activities on Kafubu River. Data was obtained through questionnaires, interviews, and sampling stations were set up; STI (on weed), ST2 and ST3 (weed infested areas). Mean results showed that phosphate, nitrite, ammonia and nitrate levels were high in stations ST2 and ST3 than ST1 due to the effluent discharged into the river from Kanini and Lubuto Sewerage Treatment Plants. About 20.4% of the respondents reported that water hyacinth cause damage to fishing nets and makes it difficult for fishermen to paddle on the river, while 11.8% of the respondents observed that valuable time is wasted on laying nets due to the presence of the mat. About 70.19% of the respondents perceived that fish catch ability was higher when water hyacinth coverage is low between November and April. Respondents reported that water hyacinth also reduces the amount of water received for irrigation, blocks the irrigation channels and brings along the organic nutrients. The SWOC and EFE analysis gave a low total weighted score for both external and internal evaluations of 1.99 and 2.14, respectively. This means that the institutional arrangement for management of water hyacinth in the river are weak internally while institution’s strategies are not well designed to meet opportunities and defend the challenges in managing the weed.