Story and Photos by Dagim Terefe
Editing and Visualizations by Annika McGinnis
Coordinated by Fredrick Mugira
August 2, 2018
In northwestern Ethiopia, a weed has grown out of control!
The invasive water hyacinth, locally named as Enboch is putting aquatic biodiversity of Lake Tana at extreme risk; harming agriculture and local tourism there.
Lake Tana is not only a water source for over 123 million people in the Nile Basin but also a source of various species of fish. It is a source of water for millions of livestock, and agriculture. And now, Enboch is threatening this life-giving resource.
In this special multimedia report, Ethiopian award-winning journalist Dagim Terefe reports that vast swathes of the water in this historical lake are becoming a sea of green while fish pens and navigation channels are being clogged by an impenetrable mass of Enboch.
