A History of the Water Hyacinth in Africa

The Flower of Life and Death from 1800 to the Present

Jeremiah Mutio Kitunda

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2017
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781978754782
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: African History
• Index: History

Humans and animals are not the only creatures that migrate. Plants also do. This book is a comprehensive and analytical account of the migration of an Old World plant, water hyacinth (also known to botanists as Eichhornia Crassipes) from the Amazon Basin and surrounding areas to Africa through human agency from about 1800 to the present. As an integrative work, which benefits from methodologies and conceptual approaches drawn from limnology, botany, biology, geography, history, ecology and other social sciences and humanities, the book further explores the political, economic, and ecological consequences of the spread of water hyacinth from its native habitat through European botanical gardens to Africa rivers, lakes, dams, and wetlands. In part, as a narrative of Western tinkering with African ecologies gone awry, the study has strong lessons for environmental historians, and social scientists as well as contemporary foundations, aid workers, development experts and African governments. Although it may appear to be a micro-history of a single plant, water hyacinth, it illuminates broader issues in the history of the modern environment in Africa and similar studies worldwide. This study is primarily rooted on the histories of colonialism, bioinvasion, environmental realities and experiences in Africa. The highly visible pathways of hyacinth's spread across international frontiers along watercourses and communication networks means that not only is this a trans-boundary environmental affair, but one which directly involves bilateral relations between African states.

Table of contents

• Cover
• A History of the Water Hyacinth in Africa
• A History of the Water Hyacinth in Africa
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Maps
• Part 1
• THE NILE, THE RED SEA, AND THE INDIAN OCEAN BASINS
• Chapter 1
• The Nile and Awash River Basins
• Chapter 2
• East Africa and Offshore Islands
• Chapter 3
• Lake Victoria
• Part 2
• SOUTH AFRICA AND THE ZAMBEZI RIVER BASIN
• Chapter 4
• South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho
• Chapter 5
• The Zambezi River Basin
• Part 3
• THE CONGO AND NIGER RIVER BASINS
• Chapter 6
• The Congo River Basin
• Chapter 7
• West Africa and the Niger River Basin
• Part 4
• CONCLUSION
• Chapter 8
• Africa’s Response to Water Hyacinth
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author