Jonglei Canal | |
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Coordinates | 7°0′47″N31°30′29″E / 7.01306°N 31.50806°E |
Specifications | |
Status | Incomplete |
The Jonglei Canal was a canal project started, but never completed, to divert water from the vast Sudd wetlands of South Sudan so as to deliver more water downstream to Sudan and Egypt for use in agriculture. Sir William Garstin proposed the idea of the canal in 1907; the government of Egypt conducted a study in 1946; and plans took shape between 1954 and 1959 during the period of decolonization which included Sudanese independence in 1956. Against the context of Sudan's postcolonial civil conflict, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), led by John Garang, halted construction of the canal in 1984.
The dispute over the Jonglei Canal, and access to Nile waters, [1] added a significant environmental dimension to the post-1983, second Sudanese civil war, in which disputes over the religious, linguistic, and cultural elements of Sudanese national identity also played prominent roles. [2] [3] [4]
Due to the Sudd swamp, the water from the southwestern tributaries of the Nile, the Bahr el Ghazal system, for all practical purposes does not reach the main river and is lost through evaporation and transpiration. Hydrogeologists in the 1930s proposed digging a canal east of the Sudd which would divert water from the Bahr al Jabal above the Sudd to a point farther down the White Nile, bypassing the swamps and carrying the White Nile's waters directly to the main channel of the river. [5]
Sir William Garstin, Undersecretary of State of Public Works of Egypt, created the first detailed proposal for digging a canal east of the Sudd in 1904. [6] By bypassing the swamps, it was calculated that evaporation of the Nile's water would vastly decrease, allowing an increase in the area of cultivatable land in Egypt by two million acres.
The Jonglei canal scheme was first studied by the government of Egypt in 1946 and plans were developed in 1954-59. Construction work on the canal began in 1978 but the outbreak of political instability in Sudan has held up work for many years. By 1984 when the SPLA brought the works to a halt, 240 km of the canal of a total of 360 km had been excavated.
The rusting remains of the giant German-built excavation machine – nicknamed "Sarah" [7] – are visible in satellite images near the south end of the canal. It was damaged by a missile. As peace was restored in 2000, speculation grew about a restart of the project. However on February 2, 2008, the Sudanese Government said the revival of the project was not a priority. However, in 2008, Sudan and Egypt agreed to restart the project and finish the canal after 24 years. [8]
The independence of South Sudan in 2011 effectively ended the role of the Sudanese Government in regard to the canal. The project has been discussed, but there is currently no agreement on resuming the project.
It is estimated that the Jonglei canal project would divert 3.5–4.8 cubic kilometres (0.84–1.15 cu mi) of water per year (equal to a mean annual discharge of 110–152 cubic metres per second (3,900–5,400 cu ft/s)), an increase of around five to seven per cent of Egypt's current supply. [9]
Little or no consideration had been given within Egypt to the ability of the Sudd swamplands to act as a sponge and regulator of floodwaters.
The canal's highly questionable benefits would be shared by Egypt and Sudan, with the expected damage falling on South Sudan. [8] The complex and potentially catastrophic environmental and social issues involved, including the collapse of fisheries, drying of grazing lands, [10] a drop of groundwater levels and a reduction of rainfall in the region, [11] [ page needed ] limits the practicality of the project.
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river in the world, though this has been contested by research suggesting that the Amazon River is slightly longer. Of the world's major rivers, the Nile is one of the smallest, as measured by annual flow in cubic metres of water. About 6,650 km (4,130 mi) long, its drainage basin covers eleven countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan. The Nile is an important economic driver supporting agriculture and fishing.
The White Nile is a river in Africa, the minor of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the larger being the Blue Nile. The name "White" comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color.
The Sudd is a vast swamp in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile's Baḥr al-Jabal section. The Arabic word sudd is derived from sadd, meaning "barrier" or "obstruction". The term "the sudd" has come to refer to any large solid floating vegetation island or mat. The area which the swamp covers is one of the world's largest wetlands and the largest freshwater wetland in the Nile Basin.
Jonglei State is a state of South Sudan with Bor as its centre of government and the biggest city. Jonglei state comprises nine counties: Bor, Akobo, Ayod, Uror, Duk, Nyirol, Pigi, Twic East, and Fangak. Jonglei State is the largest state by area before reorganisation, with an area of approximately 122,581 km2, as well as the most populous according to the 2008 census conducted in present-day South Sudan's second period of autonomy. The boundaries of the state were again changed as a result of a peace agreement signed on 22 February 2020.
The Dinka people are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and the Abyei Area of the Ngok Dinka in South Sudan.
The Nile lechwe or Mrs Gray's lechwe is an endangered species of antelope found in swamps and grasslands in South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Bor is a historic city in the Bor region of Jonglei State, located in the central region of South Sudan. It has also served as the headquarters of Jonglei state. The city is situated on the east side of the White Nile at the southern extent of the sudd, South Sudan's vast central wetlands.
The Bahr al-Arab or Kiir River (Dinka) is a river which flows approximately 800 km (500 mi) through the southwest of Sudan and marks part of its international border with South Sudan. It is part of the Nile river system, being a tributary of Bahr el Ghazal, which is a tributary of the White Nile.
As a body of water that crosses numerous international political borders, the Nile river is subject to multiple political interactions. Traditionally it is seen as the world's longest river flowing 6,700 kilometres (4,200 mi) through ten countries in northeastern Africa – Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt with varying climates.
The Bahr el Zeraf (Arabic: بَـحْـر الـزّرَاف, romanized: Baḥr ez-Zerāf, also known as the Giraffe or Phow River in the English language, is an arm of the White Nile in the Sudd region of South Sudan. It is completely contained within the South Sudanese state of Jonglei. Its name is Arabic for "Giraffe River".
The Jur River is a river in western South Sudan, flowing through the Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria regions. About 485 kilometres (301 mi) long, it flows north and northeast, joining the Bahr el Ghazal River on the western side of the Sudd wetlands. The Jur River is part of the Nile basin, as the Bahr al-Ghazal flows into the White Nile.
The Bahr el Ghazal or Naam River (Nuer) is a river in South Sudan. The South Sudanese region of Bahr el Ghazal takes its name from the river.
Egypt's environmental problems include, but are not limited to, water scarcity, air pollution, damage to historic monuments, animal welfare issues and deficiencies in its waste management system.
The geography of South Sudan describes the physical features of South Sudan, a country in East Africa. South Sudan is a landlocked country and borders – clockwise – Sudan from the north, Ethiopia from the east, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the south and the Central African Republic from the west.
The history of South Sudan comprises the history of the territory of present-day South Sudan and the peoples inhabiting the region.
Mongalla or Mangalla is a Payam in Juba County, Central Equatoria State in South Sudan, on the east side of the Bahr al Jebel or White Nile river. It lies about 75 km by road northeast of Juba. The towns of Terekeka and Bor lie downstream, north of Mongalla.
Vincent Reynolds Woodland was a British colonial administrator who was governor of Mongalla Province of the southern Anglo-Egyptian Sudan from 1920 to 1924.
The Adar oilfield, also known as the Adar Yale, Adar Yeil or Adaril field, is an oilfield situated in the Melut in South Sudan estimated to contain about 276 million barrels (43,900,000 m3) of oil. The Chevron Corporation discovered the Adar Yale field in 1981, shortly before the start of the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005). Soon after Chevron had suspended operations in 1984, Sudanese government troops began attacking civilian settlements in the area, burning the houses and driving the people away, and in the late 1990s, Nuer militias from Nasir helped the army in clearing away the people to make way for the roads and infrastructure of the oilfield.
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