The Benefits of Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>) for Southern Africa: A Review
Globally, water hyacinth is a known invasive species that predominantly threatens the pillars of sustainability. The cost of controlling these invasive plants is high and many Southern African countries are barely equipped for this liability as the process has to be performed over time. Despite this...
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doaj-10d0aa8a48b54c6991e64395397f5c312020-11-25T04:07:38ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502020-11-01129222922210.3390/su12219222The Benefits of Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>) for Southern Africa: A ReviewObianuju P. Ilo0Mulala D. Simatele1S’phumelele L. Nkomo2Ntandoyenkosi M. Mkhize3Nagendra G. Prabhu4Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South AfricaGlobal Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South AfricaDepartment of Geography and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South AfricaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South AfricaGlobal Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South AfricaGlobally, water hyacinth is a known invasive species that predominantly threatens the pillars of sustainability. The cost of controlling these invasive plants is high and many Southern African countries are barely equipped for this liability as the process has to be performed over time. Despite this challenge, there is valuable resource recovery from water hyacinth which can be used to make financial and environmental returns. The visible differences between the control and utilisation methods lie in the definition, recognition, and matching of costs and benefits. Using a rapid appraisal of existing literature, which was analysed using meta-analysis, the current paper is an attempt to discuss the beneficial use of water hyacinth. It is argued in the paper that the economic feasibility of control methods which, on one hand, are used to calculate the economic value of water hyacinth, mainly relies on assumptions whose reliability and sustainability are questionable, thus implying limitations on using this kind of control methods. On the other hand, the costs and benefits of utilising water hyacinth can be quantifiable, making them susceptible to changes associated with time value and sensitivity analysis of possible fluctuations in cashflows. In the context of these annotations, other scholars have argued for the consideration of other utilisation alternatives, among which is included biogas which has been identified as the most viable option because of its potential in diversifying the energy mix, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and contributing to improved water quality. Given these observations, this paper aims to contribute to policy and research discussions on the fiscal understandings of the material recovery from water hyacinth to promote the adoption of biogas technology. These views are discussed within the broader discourse of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/21/9222water hyacinthbiomasscontrolutilisationbioenergycost-benefit |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Obianuju P. Ilo Mulala D. Simatele S’phumelele L. Nkomo Ntandoyenkosi M. Mkhize Nagendra G. Prabhu |
spellingShingle |
Obianuju P. Ilo Mulala D. Simatele S’phumelele L. Nkomo Ntandoyenkosi M. Mkhize Nagendra G. Prabhu The Benefits of Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>) for Southern Africa: A Review Sustainability water hyacinth biomass control utilisation bioenergy cost-benefit |
author_facet |
Obianuju P. Ilo Mulala D. Simatele S’phumelele L. Nkomo Ntandoyenkosi M. Mkhize Nagendra G. Prabhu |
author_sort |
Obianuju P. Ilo |
title |
The Benefits of Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>) for Southern Africa: A Review |
title_short |
The Benefits of Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>) for Southern Africa: A Review |
title_full |
The Benefits of Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>) for Southern Africa: A Review |
title_fullStr |
The Benefits of Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>) for Southern Africa: A Review |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Benefits of Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia crassipes</i>) for Southern Africa: A Review |
title_sort |
benefits of water hyacinth (<i>eichhornia crassipes</i>) for southern africa: a review |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2020-11-01 |
description |
Globally, water hyacinth is a known invasive species that predominantly threatens the pillars of sustainability. The cost of controlling these invasive plants is high and many Southern African countries are barely equipped for this liability as the process has to be performed over time. Despite this challenge, there is valuable resource recovery from water hyacinth which can be used to make financial and environmental returns. The visible differences between the control and utilisation methods lie in the definition, recognition, and matching of costs and benefits. Using a rapid appraisal of existing literature, which was analysed using meta-analysis, the current paper is an attempt to discuss the beneficial use of water hyacinth. It is argued in the paper that the economic feasibility of control methods which, on one hand, are used to calculate the economic value of water hyacinth, mainly relies on assumptions whose reliability and sustainability are questionable, thus implying limitations on using this kind of control methods. On the other hand, the costs and benefits of utilising water hyacinth can be quantifiable, making them susceptible to changes associated with time value and sensitivity analysis of possible fluctuations in cashflows. In the context of these annotations, other scholars have argued for the consideration of other utilisation alternatives, among which is included biogas which has been identified as the most viable option because of its potential in diversifying the energy mix, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and contributing to improved water quality. Given these observations, this paper aims to contribute to policy and research discussions on the fiscal understandings of the material recovery from water hyacinth to promote the adoption of biogas technology. These views are discussed within the broader discourse of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). |
topic |
water hyacinth biomass control utilisation bioenergy cost-benefit |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/21/9222 |
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