25 Jan 2017

An official from the department of water affairs has warned that the persistent growth of a weed called Salvania Molesta found in Thamalakane river could threaten the sustenance of Okavango Delta as the world heritage site.

The caution was made by head of aquatic vegetation control unit in the department, Dr Naidu Kurugundla, recently in an interview.

He said Okavango Delta needed to be protected from such weeds because it could kill all the fish, indigenous and aquatic plants in the river.

Dr Kurugundla explained that Salvania Molesta weed could result in decomposition leading to poor water quality, decrease in environmental value and this could affect tourism as well as wetland.

All these according to water affairs ecologist could reflect negatively on the delta in the report sent to UNISCO with regard to the recognition of the delta.

“We report to the UNISCO every year about the Okavango Heritage Site in order to sustain the recognition through their recommendations and if we can let the salvania molesta spread to the Okavango Delta then the heritage will get lost,” he said.

He said the invasive weed had spread widely in the Ngamiland area especially in the Thamalakane River and they had been fighting to eradicate it but the outbreak had recently spread to places such as

Kachirachira river at Eretsha in the Okavango area. Dr Karugundla said they had made their research on the weed and said it is impossible for the weed to grow in a running water like the Okavango Delta and it was a worrying issue to find it in that area.

He said they feared that people could be taking this weed and planting it in the Okavango Delta especially in the surrounding small wetlands like Kachirachira were he said waskilometres far from the

Thamalakane River where they have experienced the weed.

Dr Kurugundla said in some instances they employed residents in some areas to help them remove the weed and he is convinced that now people spread this weed all over so that they could be employed in return to remove it and get paid. BOPA