The College of African Wildlife Management Mweka (CAWM-Mweka) has embarked on research to identify reasons for the existence of invasive plants in Lake Jipe in Mwanga District, Kilimanjaro Region.
The research will then provide ways how to remove the water weeds on Lake Jipe that have been hindering income generating activities of the people in the district and other surrounding areas.
The CAWM-Mweka Deputy Rector Dr Emmanuel Martin said recently, “The College has set aside funds in the 2023/2024 financial year, which will be used for conducting the research,”
He said the goal of the research is to determine the reasons that lead to the existence of the water weeds that cause the water to decrease and thus stop various economic activities at the lake.
He said the research is one of the environmental studies planned to be conducted in the Kilimanjaro Region due to their direct effects on people’s economic activities.
Dr Martin said the CAWM-Mweka will visit the Lake Jipe area to carry out a feasibility study followed by the intended research, the aim of which he said was to save the lake, which is economically important, including in activities involving agriculture, irrigation, fishing and electricity generation at the Nyumba ya Mungu power station.
He continued to say that, the presence of invasive plants in the lake also causes creatures under the water to suffocate due to lack of oxygen.
On his part, the CAWM-Mweka Rector Prof Jaffari Kideghesho said that the climate change and environmental damage in the areas surrounding Lake Jipe have contributed to the existence of invasive plants thus hindering the growth of other species.
“The research we expect to conduct aims to ensure the practice of environmental care is sustainable; conservation of the environment and especially that of the natural forests is important as it will also save the wildlife which is very important as far as the tourism activities are concerned,” he said.
