ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 321 - 01/04/1997

The Congo

A plant for purifying polluted water

by Carole Goma-Makaya, Congo, January 1997

THEME = ECOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

There is hope for many people in the Congo who do not enjoy pure drinking water. A plant called Dietetic Lepo could save the country's water. It "eats" bacteria and viruses and proves to be more efficacious than costly chemicals imported from Europe

In many areas of the Congo, as elsewhere in Africa, the people are victims of the problems caused by polluted water. This results in many diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera. The solution could be provided by an independent researcher, the Franco-Congolese, Charles Robert Mathurin. He has studied the properties of a plant called Dietetic Lepo which purifies water by a process of photosynthesis. It is a duckweed with a thick leaf growing out of a central stem, which belongs to the lemna family, whence its scientific name lemna polyrisa. It flourishes particularly in polluted water. Also, it's a good vegetable, which can be eaten as a salad. (Editor's note: cf. ANB-BIA. No.287. Malawi - Une graine pour sauver l'eau).
Dietetic Lepo helps to balance the ecosystem and the habitat. It is nourished by photosynthesis of plastic substances (nitrogen, phosphates, calcium, potassium) contained in polluted waters. Mr.Mathurin explains: "This plant is much used in Bangladesh by the Lemna Corporation, an American organisation which uses it to purify water containing faecal pollution". Because of its protein and water content, Dietetic Lepo is also used to treat people suffering from dehydration. It could help to protect species of plants and animals which are in danger of extinction. Dietetic Lepo is a natural plant which can be a useful tool in a programme for improving water and agricultural environments.

The plant is not for sale

Nowadays, the decline in serviceability of hydroelectric dams and irrigation systems, are among the reasons for the lowering of agricultural productivity in the Congo. The poor availability of drinking water could be compensated for, by using water tanks purified with Lepo. Thus, instead of spending enormous sums on chemicals for purifying water, Dietetic Lepo could be used to purify large expanses of water, revive agriculture and combat malnutrition.
Mr.Mathurin explains: "Lepo is not commercialised. It is given free to any person who is engaged in aquaculture, farming or cleaning up the environment. But prospective users must apply to the Genetic Initiation for Aquatic Nutrition (GINA) for preliminary training, which is also free".
Lepo is cultivated in large quantities by GINA at Dolisie (situated in the South West of the country in the Niari region), but it could be grown in any polluted water. Its speed of growth, coupled with its way of nutrition, is matched by the rapidity with which it cleans infected water.
Mr.Mathurin has been experimenting with Lepo since 1972, the year he discovered the plant used by a traditional herbalist in the Central African Republic. He has experience cultivating shellfish called Gambas. Mr.Mathurin had an establishment in Dolisie since 1990, but in the political and social unrest of 1993, he lost his laboratory and his ponds. At the moment he is conducting aquaculture experiments at the Campement Lumière on M'bamou Island, near Brazzaville.
He says: "I am trying to repeat the experiment and interest the maximum number of people. I hope that national opinion will help me to popularize Lepo in order to get rid of famine and attain autonomy in food production". The researcher appeals to national and international donors to encourage the growing of Lepo in the Congo.

Charles Robert Mathurin

Charles Robert Mathurin was born in Brazzaville on 2 May 1946. Born of French parents, Emmanuel Mathurin and Agathe Parenté, he became a naturalised Congolese. He did his primary studies up to 4th grade in the Congo and began his secondary studies in the Central African Republic. He left secondary school in the second form, and returned to the Congo to pursue other activities. He grew cocoa in Likouala (in the north) and became the first planter in that area. In 1968, he returned to the Central African Republic where he worked in a repair workshop for a transport company, exporting pineapples and sweet bananas.
In 1976, Mathurin went to Cameroon and worked for the Cameroon Police as a general technician. A few years later, he returned to the Congo with a transport company. At the same time, he carried out research in aquaculture and rural development. He is now head of the GINA project - a non-profit-making association of nine Congolese researchers.

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PeaceLink 1997 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement