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Article: The curse of the water hyacinth: Lake Victoria. (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania are using various methods to eradicate the plant, which is destroying habitat and fishing)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- January 10, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ONCE upon a time, Lake Victoria had a sandy shoreline with wide beaches and swaying palms. Then, in the 1960s, big bad storms uprooted trees and carried the beautiful sand away. And lately, wicked water hyacinths have taken over the shoreline, ringing the lake with a thick green crust where water used to be.
Controlling the weed has become a priority for Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, which border the lake. The thick green mats of plants hamper fishermen, tan- gling their nets, clogging motors and destroying fish-breeding grounds. They bung up the filters of Uganda's main hydroelectric plant, at Owen Falls, and of the local breweries.
Despite its lovely name, the ...