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Water hyacinth is an invasive plant species that has wreaked havoc in various water bodies across the globe. This plant is native to the Amazon basin and was introduced in India as an ornamental plant. This plant grows at a tremendous speed and can double its cover in a matter of 9 days. Water hyacinth is known to thrive in polluted water, it tends to absorb heavy metals and thus cleans water from heavy metal pollution. This positive attribute helps only when the population of water hyacinth is kept under check. The unmonitored spread of water hyacinth can lead to oxygen reduction from a water body, extensive evaporation, loss of biodiversity, and an increase in vector-borne disease. It is named as one of the most noxious weeds and it serves the name well. In India, states like Kerala, west Bengal, and Assam face huge problem of water hyacinth infestation. Governments in these states invest huge quantum of money just to clean water bodies of water hyacinth. Cleaning a stretch of 55km in Ichamati River in Nadia district of West Bengal has an estimated cost of 28 Crore. The mechanical removal of water hyacinth often requires an extensive amount of monitoring due to the plant's remarkable reproductive biology. When water hyacinth plants are chopped or fragmented during mechanical removal, each severed piece of the rhizome—the horizontal, underground stem—can regenerate into a new individual plant. This regeneration process is both rapid and efficient and thus requires regular monitoring which entails a huge cost. On the other hand, countries like Indonesia which face the problem of water hyacinth, have set up a full-fledged market of sustainable goods industry that uses water hyacinth in making goods like yoga mats, coasters, handbags, etc. This has not only created employment for people but has significantly reduced water hyacinths in their water bodies. Since water hyacinth is an input to this industry, it has created a local economy that uses water hyacinth sustainably and also keeps the growth in check as it is periodically harvested. The handicraft industry has a huge potential of utilizing water hyacinth as input. Its free availability makes the venture even more profitable. The triple-bottom-line impact—social empowerment, environmental restoration, and economic growth—makes the water hyacinth handicraft industry a compelling case study in sustainable development.
Keywords: Water Hyacinth, CVM, Cost Benefit Analysis, Sustainable livelihood.
