A lake has reportedly dried up and many others are under siege by the free-floating water hyacinth
(Eichhornia crassipes) in Akagera National Park.

The lake in questions is Lake Mihindi, which has been infested by the invasive aquatic plant for many years. Many others, including Lakes Gishanju, Shakani, and Ihema, are also critically affected by the water weed, according to local tourism experts.

The experts say that tourism in Akagera Park could be affected greatly if the current rate of spread of the water hyacinth is not checked.

According to the University of Texas’s Center for Aquatic plants, water hyacinth is one of the worst weeds in the world – aquatic or terrestrial. Its growth rate is among the highest of any plant known: hyacinth populations can double in as little as 12 days. Its floating mats can weigh up to 200 tons per acre.

According to Edwin Sabuhoro of Ecotours, a local ecotourism company, these floating mats greatly affect the parks ecosystems (both water and land ecosystems), and in the end impact on tourism. 

As he explains, the floating mat created by the hyacinth is a threat to the big, as well as the small aquatic animals; the hippopotamus and elephants are affected, just as are the small fishing birds, fish and the microscopic plankton they feed on.