Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has challenged conservationists to save Lake Victoria from the hyacinth weed that has choked the freshwater body.
Sonko has said the floating weed, which has so far covered hundreds of hectares of the lake, needs to be eradicated as it has hampered fishing as well as movement of people.
Speaking on Tuesday while addressing the sustainable blue economy conference at KICC in Nairobi, the governor challenged leaders and environmentalists to find a solution to the weed menace.
"It is not okay that all the environmental experts are unable to find a solution to this menace. We should make a resolution in this conference that we will now allow factors to negatively affect the Blue Economy without concerted effort to address them."
"We need to find a way to permanently remove this weed. We owe it to our people," Sonko said in his speech during the conference.
Lake Victoria borders Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The Kenyan side is the most affected by this hyacinth weed.
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In the same vein, the governor called for stringent measures to be taken to end on pollution of oceans, lakes, and rivers, terming it a danger to all mankind.
Sonko hailed the ban on plastic bags saying the decision has drastically reduced the number of plastics ending up in rivers, lakes, and ocean.
He promised that his administration would intensify campaigns to clean up the Nairobi River ecosystem.
"In the last four months, we have removed hundreds of tons of waste from our rivers, and are now conducting a campaign to sustain the momentum."
UN-Habitat executive director Maimunah Sharif welcomed the Nairobi county government's beautification project.
On his part, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa also hailed the exercise saying it is beneficial to the environment.
"I want to thank Governor Sonko for making Nairobi city more beautiful than it has ever been," Wamalwa said.