Although
Sudan is rich in natural resources, the civil war that has been taking place
there for decades is depriving the country from utilizing those resources
and thus hindering the country's development. A protracted conflict
between the Muslim North and the non-Muslim South is ongoing. The
South of Sudan, represented in the Sudan's People Liberation Army (SPLA) led
by Lieutenant Colonel John Garang, seeks to gain self-determination for the
southerners and probably self-autonomy for the South. The representatives of
Southern Sudan usually state that they are fighting to achieve dignity for
the Southerners, and peace for the Sudan. However, the Sudanese civil war
is, to a great extent, an ecological war. One of the primary motivations
in this war is simply the control of oil reserves and the access to water
resources. Actually, there is a significant link between the map of the
Sudanese conflict and the map of the country's water and oil resources.
Sudan,
the largest country in Africa, is notably rich in both minerals and water.
Recently and most importantly, more oil has been discovered in Sudan, and if
the country is fully explored by oil geologists, it could become an oil
giant in the near future that might possibly rival Saudi Arabia.
Water
Resources in Sudan
Water
is the primary natural resource of Sudan, which is basically supplied by the
Nile River system and heavy rainfall in the South. Nevertheless, many
of the Sudanese people lack access to potable water. The country is facing a
dangerous drought that might be one of the significant reasons of the
ongoing civil war. Although Sudan possesses vast water resources,
those resources are not efficiently used.
One
major topographical feature of Sudan is the Nile River flowing across east
central Sudan. Sudan is a meeting point of river tributaries that
emanate from the Ethiopian plateau and the region of the Great lakes.
The Blue Nile with its tributaries Dinder and Rahad together with the Atbara
flow from the east, annually providing some 66 milliard cubic meters (md.
c.m.). On the other hand, Bahr El Jebel commences from Lake Victoria
with permanent rains, but the greater part of the runoff is lost in the Sudd
area inside the Sudan, bringing some 15 md. c.m. to Malakal. The Sobat
River, which joins the Nile at Malakal, flows from the Ethiopian plateau and
is fed from tributaries inside and outside the Sudan. However, about 8 md.
c.m. of Sobat runoff estimated at 13 md. c.m. are lost in the Sudd areas of
Sobat and Mashar. Almost all the water flow of Bahr El Ghazal River
estimated at 14 md cm is lost in the Sudd area of Bahr El Ghazal, leaving
only half a md. c.m. to join the White Nile at lake No.
In
addition to the Nile River, rainfall constitutes an important source of
water in Sudan. Autumn is the main rainy season, extending from May to
October. The precipitation of rainfall ranges from less than 50 mm in the
extreme north to more than 1500 mm in the extreme south. Besides the
River Nile and rainfall as major water suppliers, underground water supplies
the Nubian sandstone.
Despite
the fact that Sudan has abundant water resources acquiring the second share
of the Nile's water after Egypt and enjoying heavy rainfall especially in
its southern part, the North-South dispute over water constitutes a major
stirrer for the Sudanese civil war. The allocation of the water
resources between North and South Sudan is clearly in the South's favor. The
South is far richer in regards to the supply of water. The Northern region
is simply a continuation of the Libyan Desert while the Southern region is
fertile, abundantly irrigated, and in places, heavily forested.
Another
important dimension of the Sudanese conflict over water is strongly related
to the Egyptian-Sudanese joint project to excavate the Jonglei Canal through
the swamps of the Sudd and bypass part of the Sudd region, thereby sparing
some 4 md. c.m. to be divided equally between the two countries. That would
divert the flow of the Nile in Southern Sudan (in the Sudd) to avoid the
enormous evaporation losses that occur there. Sudd -- the largest
wetland of the world-- with its extreme rate of evaporation consumes on
average more than half the waters that come down the White Nile from the
equatorial lakes. The Jonglei Canal project was initiated in order to
replace the water lost behind dams and in other irrigation schemes.
According to the Sudanese authorities, it would drain the swamp and
establish a North-South communications link for the Sudan. It would also
send enough water downstream to finish filling Egypt's Aswan High Dam
reservoir. However, the project was hampered by the civil strife.
The Southern Sudanese rebels strongly and violently reject the Jonglei Canal
project, and this is one of the most obvious points of disagreement between
the government in the North and the rebels in the South. They do not want
any of the Sudd water to be redirected up North away from the Southern
tribes people who live in the Sudd region.
Sudan:
A Would-Be Oil Giant
Sudan
is rich in petroleum, small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore,
zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, and hydropower.
Much
oil was discovered in south-central Sudan in the 1970s. With the completion
of a major oil export pipeline from the fields in the South to the export
terminal near Port Sudan in the North in July 1999, Sudanese crude oil
production and exports have risen rapidly over the past few years. The
1,600-kilometre pipeline carries oil from the Unity State in the South of
Sudan to a special port at Beshair on the Red Sea. Sudan became an
exporter of refined petroleum products in 2000, following the inauguration
of the Khartoum Oil Refinery in June. Oil export revenues now account
for 70% of Sudan's total export earnings. Thanks to the discovery of
oil in the South and oil refining and exportation in the North, Sudan's
economy has been showing signs of turning the corner after many years of
poor performance. Oil exploration in Sudan is still in its early
stages with only 15 to 20% of the prospective areas covered.
Petroleum
production is centered in the South in and around the Muglad basin.
Heglig and Unity fields are in production and recent discoveries show that
there still remains much future potential of oil discovery in Southern
Sudan. The fields in the Muglad area produce crude oil with a 33o to 42o API
range, with only 0.5% sulfur content. Recoverable reserves from the
Heglig and Unity fields have been estimated at 660 million to 1.2 billion
barrels. The area around these two fields is also suspected to contain
much oil.
The
conflict between the government and the Southerners over the upper hand on
the newly discovered petroleum fields in the southern part of the country
has become a new feature of the Sudanese conflict. That the Sudanese regime
has been able to extract oil from the South of Sudan is a serious setback
for the United States-backed SPLA. Groups affiliated or allied with
the SPLA are threatening to bomb the pipeline -- without which the Southern
Sudanese oil fields are useless. Already the Southern rebels have
violently attacked the pipeline several times.
Hence,
the Sudanese civil war is fiercely raging on around the oil fields and over
the water resources. The southern rebels do not accept but the
ultimate upper hand over the Sudanese natural resources without any kind of
intervention from the Sudanese government; they are fighting for that aim
and they insist on no compromise in this regard. On the other hand,
those very Southern rebels claim that their right to live with dignity is
more important to them than acquiring the Sudanese natural resources. Are
the Southerners going to succeed in controlling the Southern natural
resources? Or will the peace talks between the rebels in the South and
the government in the North lead to cooperation between the two parties for
the sake of the development of a unified Sudan?
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