TANZANIANS have been cautioned to avoid using plastic bags and damping them in Lake Victoria following a recent scientific report indicating that the wrappers take between 500 to 1,000 years to biodegrade and that they may enter the human food chain through fish and other animals.
Scientists are upbeat that the move will
address the dwindling fish stocks in Lake Victoria. Fishermen too have
praised the move, saying it will help save certain fish species,
including Tilapia that have been on the brink of extinction as a result
of heavy pollution of the lake.
Scientists and local fishermen say the
ban would help save certain fish species. Plastics have been polluting
the lake, curtailing movement of fish in the lake. The move will help
save the fresh water lake that is facing a myriad of challenges.
In Nairobi’s slaughterhouses, some cows
destined for human consumption had 20 bags removed from their stomachs.
Encroachment of Lake Victoria coastline, unsustainable human activities
and unplanned settlements are posing a big threat to human habitat and
the lake’s resources.
Plastic pollutants in the lake have been
having damaging effects on aquatic life as well as on fishing and
tourism activities. The lake has been heavily affected by several
pollutants including plastics which have curtailed the movement of fish
in the lake.
Plastics block water ways and also
interfere with the circulation of oxygen in the lake. Fish can easily be
chocked as a result of interference in air supply and free movement of
water. As a result the breeding characteristics of some fish species
have been affected negatively by pollution.
In the recent past, several experts
including the East African Community raised concerns over the heavy
pollution of the lake. A survey conducted on Lake Victoria shores
revealed that people had randomly constructed permanent houses and
hotels within 60 metres from the coastline in violation of the 2004
Environment Act.
Illegal fishing and environmental
degradation have resulted into depletion of about 400 fish species in
the last four decades. Using explosives like dynamite and other illegal
fishing methods aggravated the problem and destroys the ecological
balance of the water body.
The Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa,
has warned that environmental degradation could lead to desertification
if stern measures are not taken to curb it and plant many trees to check
climate change.
He directed Regional Commissioners and
District Commissioners to initiate a special campaign to redress the
situation. He warned that if the situation is not contained, the welfare
and lives of the people as well as the lake’s resources will be in
jeopardy.
“Additional ef forts are necessary.
Change of attitude among fishermen and the general public cannot be
overstated. Lake Victoria is under threat and the very people this
natural resource is supposed to serve are the ones threatening its
existence. People must realize that the resources belong to them and
once depleted they will suffer the economic consequences. This is a
collective responsibility and each of us must play part,” he said.
Key to the current wave of beach erosion
are the investors and home-owners themselves, many of whom do not
observe the regulation limiting human activities- and business
structures in particular- to a strict 60-metre zone from the coastline.
Irresponsible human activities are
threatening the world’s second largest fresh water lake. Urgent joint
measures including close monitoring were needed to avert the problem
which has serious socio-economic effect.
Coordinated efforts are needed to
enforce the Fisheries Act No 22/2003. Lake Victoria is the largest fresh
water body in Africa, providing a lifeline to more than 5,000,000
people living in rural communities on or near its shores.
The lake is their source of water for
bathing, drinking and cooking while its fish populations provide both
protein and income for many families. Many of the fish, including
members of the lake’s large cichlid population, are endemic, being found
nowhere else on earth.
Kagera Region is facing serious problems
and was receiving erratic rains, a situation which experts attribute to
climate change and environmental destruction. Rampant felling of trees
due to human activities should be controlled immediately to avert the
looming desertification.
In neighbouring Kenya producing, selling
or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years
or fines of $40,000 (£31,000). The East African nation joins more than
40 other countries that have banned, partly banned or taxed single use
plastic bags, including China, France, Rwanda, and Italy.
If we continue like this, by 2050, we
will have more plastic in the ocean than fish, said Habib El-Habr, an
expert on marine litter working with the UN environment programme in
Kenya. Humans have produced 8.3bn tonnes of plastic since the 1950s with
the majority ending up in landfill or polluting the world’s continents
and oceans, according to a new report.
The first global analysis of all
mass–produced plastics has found that it has outstripped most other
man-made materi als, threatening a near permanent contamination of the
natural environment.
The study by US academics found that the
total amount of plastic produced– equivalent in weight to one billion
elephants– will last for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. And with
production expected to accelerate over the coming decades, campaigners
warn it is creating an environmental crisis comparable to climate
change.
The study found that in 2015, of the
nearly seven billion tonnes of plastic waste generated, only 9 per cent
was recycled, 12 per cent incinerated, and 79 per cent accumulated in
landfills or the environment.
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