Learning From Jonglei – Enough Compromises
On Our Ecosystems!
Author(s)
A. Mustafa Ahmad
Abstract
The Jonglei Canal Project in southern Sudan was planned to by-pass and thus
drain part of the wetlands of the Bahr al-Jabal and Bahr az-Zaraf Rivers into the
White Nile. While this will increase the Nile waters flowing northwards it will
most probably have negative side effects on the local, and maybe the regional,
environment, the benefits shared between Egypt and the Sudan and the probable
damage falling on the already crippled southern Sudan. Harmful effects of
government projects are rarely granted full, objective presentation in the Arab
world and this is doubly harmful in countries like the Sudan where they escalate
into other related evils, in this case warming and desert creep. The canal project,
launched in 1978 and brought to a halt through armed force by rebels in 1984,
has played a prominent role in the Sudanese political events of the past two
decades which have at long last given way to the peace agreements of January
2005. This paper tries to outline the nature of the project, the peculiar Sudanese-Egyptian
disputes in action, the advantages and possible hazards of the project
and recommends that the region be developed in a manner that regards the
wetlands as a valuable resource and protects the ecosystem from threats of
destabilisation.
Keywords: conservation and management of ecological areas, environmental
risk, natural resources management, water disputes.
1 Introduction
The title of this conference ‘Ecosystems and Sustainable Development’ brings to
mind three retarded regions in the Sudan that demand urgent attention and
action. The first is the Jonglei wetlands in the south; the second is the advancing
desert belt now embracing the national capital, Khartoum; the third is
Lake Nubia on the northern border created by the erection of the High Dam in
Keywords
conservation and management of ecological areas, environmental
risk, natural resources management, water disputes.
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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