Water hyacinth: Potential applications for environmental sustainability and socio-economic development

Despite the fact that people are more familiar with its drawbacks, water hyacinth has a variety of uses. This study aims to assess local inhabitants’ opinions of water hyacinth and its sustainable, environmentally beneficial uses. In order to perform the study properly, we moved on to the study areas that are closer to Roa beel and a questionnaire with seven components and seven parameters was used. The Roa Beel is situated in the Chandpur Union neighborhood of the Kishoregonj district’s Katiadi Upazila, Kishoreganj, Bangladesh. During the rainy season, excessive water hyacinth was found in the study region, and people of the villages of Sheker Para, Purbo Para, and Modinas Para in the Kishoregonj district were surveyed. The study assesses the locals’ perceptions of their knowledge and understanding of water hyacinth, their management techniques, the benefits and drawbacks of water hyacinth, and their actual use of it in their daily lives as well as in various sectional activities like fishing, livestock rearing, agricultural farming, particularly in floating agricultural practices, and for industrial purposes. A surplus of water hyacinth in the beel can be utilized to create a promising industry for the region, especially if it is converted into affordable, environmentally acceptable animal feed, bio-fertilizer, and biogas. Undoubtedly, this will improve local environmental management efforts and provide more opportunity for local unemployed people to find employment.

Keywords: Water hyacinth; Environment; Sustainability; Bio-fertilizer; Biogas; Animal feed.