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.
16-650: The dispute over the Jonglei Canal, and access to Nile waters, 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. 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
32-478: 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. The independence of South Sudan in 2011 effectively ended the role of the Sudanese Government in regard to
48-550: Is 851,459 square kilometres (328,750 sq mi) and reaches west to the border of the Central African Republic and northwest to the Darfur region. The river was first mapped in 1772 by French geographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville , although it was vaguely known to early Greek geographers. Jur River The Jur River ( Luo River ) is a river in western South Sudan , flowing through
64-707: 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 (Luo River) is part of the Nile basin, as the Bahr al-Ghazal flows into the White Nile . The Luo River is a seasonal stream. Its discharge can reach 400 m /s (14,300 cu ft/s) in September. The upper course of
80-499: The confluence marks the start of the Bahr el Ghazal, but more recent sources say that the Jur joins the Bahr el Ghazal at Lake Ambadi and that the Bahr al-Arab joins the Bahr el Ghazal some distance downriver from Lake Ambadi. According to author Mamdouh Shahin, the Lol, Jur, Tonj, Bahr al-Arab, and others streams, are all tributaries of the Bahr el Ghazal, but that their channels disappear in
96-904: The Luo River is also called the Sue. The Jur River's headwaters flow from the Congo-Nile Divide , which separates the Nile and Congo River basins, along South Sudan's border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic . The main tributaries being the Sue River (itself sometimes called the Jur), Busseri River, Wau River, and Numatinna River. The spelling and precise meaning of these river names differ among sources. The tributaries come together near Wau ,
112-574: The Sudd wetlands. Seasonally, the river's discharge ranges from nothing to 48 m³/s (1,700 ft³/s). According to some sources, the river is formed by the confluence of the Jur River and Bahr al-Arab rivers. However other more recent sources say the river rises in the Sudd wetlands with no definitive source, that the Jur River joins at Lake Ambadi, and the Bahr al-Arab joins below that. The river's drainage basin , including its tributaries,
128-516: The ability of the Sudd swamplands to act as a sponge and regulator of floodwaters. Many would like to see further study of the area for future economic development as flood concerns are fixed with modern Egyptian engineering. Whether the canal's highly questionable benefits would be shared by Egypt and Sudan, with the expected damage falling on South Sudan . remains to be seen with some in favor of renewed efforts. The complex and potentially catastrophic environmental and social issues involved, including
144-504: 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" – are visible in satellite images near the south end of the canal. It was damaged by
160-580: 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. Little or no consideration had been given within Egypt to
176-458: The capital of the state of Western Bahr el Ghazal . Below Wau the Jur River bends eastward, entering the swampy Sudd region. Due to the nature of the wetlands it is not always clear whether one river flows into another or merely merges in the general Sudd swamps. Some sources cite the Lol River as a tributary of the Jur while others do not. Some sources say the Jur joins the Bahr al-Arab and
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#1732765182861192-531: The collapse of fisheries, drying of grazing lands, a drop of groundwater levels and a reduction of rainfall in the region, limits the practicality of the project with 20th century technology, but future efforts may proceed. Bahr el Ghazal River The Bahr el Ghazal ( Arabic : بحر الغزال , lit. 'sea of gazelles') or Naam River ( Nuer ) is a river in South Sudan . The South Sudanese region of Bahr el Ghazal takes its name from
208-399: The first detailed proposal for digging a canal east of the Sudd in 1904. 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
224-490: 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. Sir William Garstin, Undersecretary of State of Public Works of Egypt , created
240-485: The river. The Bahr el Ghazal is the main western tributary of the Nile . It is 716 km (445 mi) long, flowing through the Sudd wetlands to Lake No , where it joins the White Nile . The Bahr al Ghazal's drainage basin is the largest of any of the Nile's subbasins, measuring 520,000 km (200,800 mi ) in size, but it contributes a relatively small amount of water, about 2 m /s (70 ft /s) annually, due to tremendous volumes of water being lost in
256-492: The wetlands before reaching any outlet. Among the ethnic groups living in the Jur basin are the Dinka , and Luo who call themselves Jo-luo . "Jur" is a Dinka word for "alien" or "non-Dinka". The Jur River was explored by John Petherick between 1853 and 1865. In 1897–98 the Jur River was carefully surveyed throughout its course by Lieutenant A.H. Dyé and other members of a French mission under Jean-Baptiste Marchand during
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