By Philip Ayuen Dot
![Jonglei Canal. [Photo via NewsBeezer]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1547764_0.jpg?ssl=1)
Should the dredging of rivers and canal be dug without any feasibility or environmental and social impact assessment being done, South Sudan will be sacrificing the lives of their own people and generations to come for the sake of Egypt. This is because of the catastrophic and alarming results of undertaking such an environmentally altering water diversion with no regard for the pastoralists, fishermen and general citizens of South Sudan who all benefit from the Sudd wetland as of now.
The Jonglei canal promises to add Egypt’s water with an additional five to seven percent of what they currently get from the Nile. South Sudan on the other hand will have 34-43% of the Sudd Wetland dry up in the first phase, and a 100% drying up after the canal starts operating in its full capacity. One does not need to be an expert to predict what will happen to the people of South Sudan once the Sudd wetland dries.
One of the most disastrous effects will be the drying up of grazing lands. South Sudan is a pastoralist country with millions of herds of cattle that depend on all year availability of pasture and water to survive. Once the wetland is gone, pasture and water will be serious sources of conflict as the animals will have very limited grazing lands.
Fisheries is another department expected to suffer unmitigated blows once the dredging of rivers and the canal is built. A substantial number of people are fishermen and they depend on it as a source of livelihood. So not only will the Jonglei Canal put them out of business, it shall reduce the food options available to people. And with climate change changing rainfall patterns and thus affecting rain fed agriculture, taking fish out of the equation reduces South Sudan’s climate resilience and will make famines more frequent.
Another catastrophe in the waiting is the effects on the wild animals. The Sudd or marshes are home to the largest animal migration in the world. The white eared Kob and the Tiang antelopes and gazelle migrate north and east from the wetlands on the eastern bank of the White Nile towards Boma National Park and across the border to Ethiopia the wetland when the season becomes drier. Needless to say, this hundreds of animals will have nowhere to migrate to when the north dries up, bringing about one of the largest environmental disasters in the world.
Reduced rainfall shall be felt by both those near and far. The evaporation from the Sudd wetland is crucial to the region’s rainfall. It forms the humid winds that blow to even neighboring countries bearing rain. Thus such a huge disruption means lack of rainfall not just to South Sudan but to neighboring countries as well.
This will then lead to reduced groundwater levels. Groundwater is usually replenished by both rainfall and wetlands like Sudd that hold the water during the rainy season and release it slowly during the dry season. The reduction of both the rainfall and the drying up of the wetland will therefore mean that boreholes no longer yield water easily, and the springs will dry as well.
This then means that the number of people affected by the already plan dredging of rivers and Jonglei Canal are not just the people who live between Upper Nile region and Bahr el Ghazal region, but the whole of South Sudan will feel the effects of this canal along with their neighboring countries who shall suffer reduced rainfall and animals migrating to their countries once South Sudan becomes more desertified.
Again, no one needs to be told that this is a recipe for conflict. Conflict over pasture. Conflict over areas left with a little rainfall. Conflict as people can no longer make a living from cattle keeping or fishing.
And all this bloodshed and environmental damage in South Sudan for what? So that Egypt increases its area under cultivation by 2 million acres. The lives of the South Sudanese people are being sacrificed so that an already prospering nation takes more from them.
For those concerned about flooding that affects the Upper Nile region among others, there are so many other environmentally friendly alternatives that can deal with the floods without reducing rainfall and drying out the largest wetland in Africa. These include erecting dams, bridges and constructing dykes. Not only will these measures control floods, but they will benefit the people of South Sudan right now and generations to come.
It is thus my official take as an environmentalist that the dredging of rivers and possible resumption of Jonglei Canal cannot be built until a proper environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) has been done. And even then, should the ESIA find that the negative impacts of the canal surpass the alleged benefits, the project should not be allowed to continue.
The era when projects would be done without consulting the public and experts is long gone. And for the people of South Sudan, it is our duty to safeguard our livelihood, our environment and seek to bequeath our children with South Sudan as we either found it or better off, not worse. It is thus the duty of everyone to speak up against the recent actions that seek to put our lives in harm’s way over a canal that will benefit two countries away from us.
The author is an environmental activist and can be reached via his email: Philipdot57@gmail.com.
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I think the State’s government must be careful about water. Dredging machines and making contracts with Egyptian government without knowledge from Public concern is very dangerous Idea. Egyptian people are trying the best way they can to gets billions cubic of water because this is the only life line in Egypt unfortunately, we can’t allow such a dangerous friends.
In case of flooding in Jonglei State, Upper Nile State and Unity State respectively, what they need is to make small dam nearby so that, the communities are not affected by flooding. Clearing River Nile is another dangerous Idea. If the River Nile is clearing perhaps, the water will running all the way to Egypt and South Sudan nation will be left dry lands something no one wanted to see it . Unity State must be careful about being fooling by Egyptian government.
these people of Bantu State are not longer people that will lead the Country if they do thing premature.
school is build for nothing , it builds to produce cadres who will bring us good knowledge. Iam A Forester I know danger of dredging the water from River is big disaster. for example this will create conflict among us through cattle migration because some of you migrate for seeking water and Plants that you dredge a way from Rivers because you business for transporting goods through the River. Egypt deceived Unity State that navigation for River Transport will be Function what are you going to transport since you damage ecosystem for agriculture , Forest, Soils even Human being and so on that need water for life.
the citizen of Bantu should think twice, I love to be in Bantu because of Wetland not Oil business because Oil production is non- renewable Resources once it finish that is all.
My brothers and sisters in Bantu frustration is not a solution and dredging is not a solution, is better to mitigate situation through ESIA that will you in future to migrate to Sudan and Equatoria in searching of water and grazing Land without creating any harm in Bantu but do not come when things out of your hand then you want to hide your selves in Sudan or Equatoria Region. if you need a place for emergency the national government will check the place because the country belong for national Leaders. the Country must work diligently to do things scientifically . We do not care what Egypt provide for us in scholarships and we can not sell our resources because of scholarship. what are you going to study in Egypt ? I know some of our already send their children in medicine,petrolium engineer,Law and Economic without knowing that in absence of Natural Resources other fields will not compromise Healthy environment of out planet.
therefore, those who claim to be helpers of Unity State people by dredging the Rivers these are killer’s of our people in Bantu. why do they mobilize money they take from petrol or Percentage create Dams in East ward of the Region.