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.