South Sudan Plan to Re-Start Waterway Project Faces Resistance
2022-05-23
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1The people of South Sudan are debating whether to restart a project first considered over 100 years ago to change the way water moves through the country.
2The Jonglei Canal project was first studied in 1904.
3It would move water from the Sudd wetlands in South Sudan and send it down the Nile River to Sudan and Egypt.
4The project started in the 1950s. Work went on for 30 years, but it was never finished.
5By then about 270 of a total 340 kilometers had been dug.
6John Akec is a leader at the University of Juba.
7He started a campaign called "Save the Sudd" because he believes the canal will cause a serious problem for South Sudan.
8If the wetlands dry, he said, "all the livelihoods" connected to that area will be lost.
9He started collecting signatures on a document called a petition that he will send to the nation's president.
10It calls for an end to the canal plan.
11If he gets 100,000 signatures, he will send it in.
12So far he has many thousands.
13"Water is more valuable than oil, diamonds, gold," he said.
14While some, like Akec, say the project would hurt the wetlands, others say the flooding is causing a greater problem.
15Earlier this year, one of South Sudan's vice presidents - Taban Deng Gai - called to restart the canal project because of increased flooding.
16People who live in Jonglei and Unity states say they have not been able to raise animals and maintain their farmland.
17Martha Achol is a farmer and mother of six. She said, "there is water everywhere" and the floods "have destroyed our farms."
18She said she never used to worry about food, but she does now.
19Mayak Deng is another farmer.
20He said the same thing.
21"Today, we don't have enough," he said.
22Manawa Peter Gatkuoth is South Sudan's water minister.
23He added that the canal would permit more visitors and new transport opportunities in the area.
24But environmentalists like Deng Majok Chol worry that the project will hurt the ecosystem of the wetlands.
25Majok Chol, who is working on an advanced environmental degree at Oxford University, said the current flooding is only a small change within the long history of the area.
26He fears that removing water from the wetlands will reduce the amount of rainfall and affect people in South Sudan as well as people downstream in Sudan and Egypt.
27Nhial Tiitmamer is the director of an environmental program at the Sudd Institute.
28Tiitmamer said the wetlands are worth $1 billion to South Sudan each year.
29"This will be lost if the wetlands are drained," he said.
30I'm Dan Friedell.
1The people of South Sudan are debating whether to restart a project first considered over 100 years ago to change the way water moves through the country. 2The Jonglei Canal project was first studied in 1904. It would move water from the Sudd wetlands in South Sudan and send it down the Nile River to Sudan and Egypt. The project started in the 1950s. Work went on for 30 years, but it was never finished. By then about 270 of a total 340 kilometers had been dug. 3John Akec is a leader at the University of Juba. He started a campaign called "Save the Sudd" because he believes the canal will cause a serious problem for South Sudan. 4If the wetlands dry, he said, "all the livelihoods" connected to that area will be lost. He started collecting signatures on a document called a petition that he will send to the nation's president. It calls for an end to the canal plan. If he gets 100,000 signatures, he will send it in. So far he has many thousands. 5"Water is more valuable than oil, diamonds, gold," he said. 6While some, like Akec, say the project would hurt the wetlands, others say the flooding is causing a greater problem. 7Earlier this year, one of South Sudan's vice presidents - Taban Deng Gai - called to restart the canal project because of increased flooding. People who live in Jonglei and Unity states say they have not been able to raise animals and maintain their farmland. 8Martha Achol is a farmer and mother of six. She said, "there is water everywhere" and the floods "have destroyed our farms." She said she never used to worry about food, but she does now. Mayak Deng is another farmer. He said the same thing. "Today, we don't have enough," he said. 9Manawa Peter Gatkuoth is South Sudan's water minister. He added that the canal would permit more visitors and new transport opportunities in the area. 10But environmentalists like Deng Majok Chol worry that the project will hurt the ecosystem of the wetlands. Majok Chol, who is working on an advanced environmental degree at Oxford University, said the current flooding is only a small change within the long history of the area. 11He fears that removing water from the wetlands will reduce the amount of rainfall and affect people in South Sudan as well as people downstream in Sudan and Egypt. 12Nhial Tiitmamer is the director of an environmental program at the Sudd Institute. Tiitmamer said the wetlands are worth $1 billion to South Sudan each year. 13"This will be lost if the wetlands are drained," he said. 14I'm Dan Friedell. 15Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press. 16Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 17Words in This Story 18canal- n. a long, narrow waterway created by people so boats can pass or water can move to supply fields 19livelihood - n. a way of earning money in order to live 20petition- n. a written document that people sign so they can show they want a person or organization to change something 21ecosystem- n. everything that exists in an environment 22drain- v. to remove water from something or a place