— Background —
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an invasive free-floating fresh-water plant native to South America, but now prevalent across Asia and Africa. It can form impenetrable mats, boost mosquito numbers, and deplete the water of dissolved oxygen, effectively suffocating fish. Water bodies filled with sewage and fertiliser, via eutrophication, create an ideal water hyacinth habitat. This workshop will explore the utilisation of water hyacinth by anaerobic digestion and disseminate activities from an on-going GCRF-funded project BEFWAM*, funded via the BBSRC.
— This workshop —
At the workshop we will hear from project partners with direct experience of operating anaerobic digesters on water hyacinth in India and Uganda, as well as getting early insights into an interdisciplinary study led by the University of Leeds into the socioeconomic impacts of water hyacinth in developing regions.
The workshop will be of interest to academics, practitioners and funders who are working on various aspects of anaerobic digestion and control of invasive aquatic weeds.