IPB warns of water hyacinth menace

IPB warns of water hyacinth menace

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In addition to garbage and toxic waste, ponds and rivers in
the city face another possible threat: water hyacinth (Eichornia
crassipes), which is known locally as eceng gondok.

According to Fifi Widjaja of the Bogor Institute of
Agriculture (IPB), eceng gondok could spread over the entire
surface of a pond quickly and could harm its ecosystem by
reducing the oxygen content of the water.

"Eceng gondok can be found in almost all freshwater waterways
even the polluted ones," she said.

There are some 30 ponds and 13 rivers across the city.
Unfortunately, most of them are polluted with garbage that
provides "food" for eceng gondok.

Among the ponds covered with eceng gondok are those in Muara
Angke and Sunter in North Jakarta as well as Situ Babakan in
South Jakarta.

"The condition is favorable for eceng gondok development. The
authorities must be alert as it can reduce the water volume of
rivers and ponds that could be dangerous in the rainy season as
the pond cannot accommodate the additional water," Fifi said.

Earlier this year, floods inundated the city for days. The
disaster claimed more than 20 lives and destroyed thousands of
homes. The polluted rivers and ponds were blamed for the floods.

A recent report of the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency
(BPLH) revealed that some 50 percent of ponds and rivers in the
city were badly polluted and contained garbage and eceng gondok.

Fifi urged the authorities and Jakartans to control the
development of eceng gondok before it became unbeatable.

"In fact, there is a chemical treatment to curb enceng gondok.
But it won't be effective if it his already covering a large area
of," she said.

Fifi said, however, that eceng gondok could be used as soil
fertilizer as well as raw material for making handicrafts, such
as fancy baggage, slippers, furniture and even clothes. That
probably encourages people to let the eceng gondok grow.

"Eceng gondok grows easily in fresh water. But its growth
should be controlled," she said.