This project will eradicate an invasive plant that is destroying the habitat of the African manatee in Lake Ossa.It is depleting the lake of oxygen,killing fish stock,suffocating manatees and is now covering a great percentage of the lake.By funding this project,through the introduction of a weevil,you will have an incredible impact in just few months by supporting the restoration of the manatee habitat and the lake biodiversity including the 400 fishermen that rely on the lake's fish resources.
There is a fast proliferation of an invasive plant species, Salvinia molesta, in the natural Lake Ossa, Cameroon. The spread of this plant has now created an emergency situation in the Lake, this plant forms thick mat on the surface of the water, prevents sunlight from penetrating the water column, kills fish, prevents access to certain areas for fishing and devastatingly, the manatee population is threatened. This is because this plant competes with the food of manatee hence they starve.
The sustainable solution is to introduce the plants enemy a weevil called Cyrtobagous spp. It is expected that this weevil will eat up the plant with no negative impact to the environment. Once the plant can be eradicated through this biological control, the lake can be restored to its natural state and all species like manatee, fishermen dependent on it can continue to benefit from the lake's resources.
-Encourage manatee population -Improve the economy of the community -Rich fish stock -Centre of ecotourism etc
