**8. Summary and policy implications**

The rapid growth rate of WH weeds, the negative impact on the water ecosystem, and the high cost of eradication make the existing control mechanisms unattractive, so it calls for the adoption of alternative control strategies that exploit the unseen invasive WH potential valorization. WH weed could be considered a sustainable supply and biorefinery feedstock material for various value-added products rather than being perceived as an invasive noxious weed. WH weed biomass can be utilized for bioremediation and bioadsorption of different contaminants, animal feed, biopolymer, and composite material production, handicraft and furniture manufacturing, bioenergy generation, and organic fertilizer production, among other things. Techno-economic analyses have revealed that integrated valorization procedures with phytoremediation can be beneficial, particularly for more expensive valorization techniques such as bioethanol production. Therefore, the adoption of valorization techniques for widespread utilization of this noxious weed is an attractive and effective method of

#### *Invasive Water Hyacinth Challenges, Opportunities, Mitigation, and Policy Implications… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106779*

addressing energy shortages, long-term food security, and economic benefits in order to incentivize the control costs by integrating with the relatively unsuccessful traditional WH weed management mechanisms. It is also a step forward to contribute to achieving global sustainable development goals (SDG) by addressing the water, energy, food, and ecosystem nexus. As a result, for practicability, sustainability, and economic feasibility of WH mitigation, the combined control-valorization techniques are more viable to be adopted locally.

For policymakers to make enlightened decisions, much more techno-economic information is required on the costs and benefits of ecosystem management programs through valorization. For instance, it is often stated that there are not enough resources to control WH. However, when the costs of improved water ecosystems are weighed against the costs of increased water-borne diseases, reduced fish catches, reduced tourism income, and increased hydropower generation interruption, the resources required for WH control are likely tolerable compared to potential losses from its proliferation. There are untapped potential opportunities for WH biomass valorization, which can subsequently cover the control costs and boost the local economy.

In addition, widespread WH valorization requires the commitment of local communities, stakeholders, and decision-makers to raise awareness among local people and riparian communities for sustainable mitigation of the WH weed impacts. Nutrient runoff from industries, sewage, municipal waste, and agricultural lands should all be monitored to ensure that they do not leak into water bodies, as they are a significant contributor to the rapid growth of WH weeds. Industries that discharge effluents into bodies of water must be required to take corrective action and pay for the harm they have induced. There should be inspection mechanisms to ensure that all industries in the country have sewage treatment plants. Also, there is a need to encourage these industries to set up new business units or incorporate the harvested WH into their existing conversion process and motivate them through combined appropriate policy and institutional plans, insurance subsidies, and tax credits.

Furthermore, since most of the affected water basins in East Africa are crossborder resources, WH infestation can be seen as a symptom of broader watershed management and pollution-related problems. It calls for a concise national and crossborder resources legal framework for control through valorization. Also, the countries sharing it should come together to draft regional legislation pertaining to WH invasive species. This will ensure that the countries come up with a unified approach to controlling these species through interagency cooperation and coordination. These countries must collaborate to boost the Nile Basin's water resources, as well as pursue a variety of multifaceted projects in which they might share resources equitably. Countries, for example, may get involved in the biorefinery sector for mass usage and transformation of WH weed into valuable resources and also rescue the Nile Basin's source from further WH weed infestation apart from subsidizing control costs.

Finally, to stimulate the implementation of valorization measures, this chapter contributes to policy and research directions on the fiscal understanding of the material recovery from WH weed biomass. It also stimulates scholars to develop new techniques for valuing the weed and research into policy frameworks.
