Eastern Nile Watershed Management Studies

The principal objective of the study is to establish a knowledge base for irrigation development in the Nile Basin that can be used to guide national and regional water resources development planning. In line with this it presents a comprehensive picture of the current situation regarding the irrigated areas, their water use and the irrigation technology currently used in the Eastern Nile. Accordingly the study, presents an inventory of existing and planned irrigation projects, data on the planned schemes, and estimate of existing and planned water use. It also identifies factors that contribute to the current level of crop and water productivity, and an over view of the socio-economic settings in which the projects operate. It also reviews the policy environment in which the irrigation projects are planned, constructed and operated, which encompass, policies, legal framework, institutional structure including the private sector. The study presents recommendations for improvement, based on the analysis conducted and establish data base that provide information on, planned, under implementation and existing irrigation schemes.

The Republic of South Sudan is a landlocked country in East Africa and borders Sudan (1,937 km) from the north, Ethiopia (883 km) from the east, Kenya (232 km), Uganda (435 km) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (628 km) from the south and the Central African Republic (682 km) from the west. South Sudan has land area of approximately 640,000 square km (excluding Abyei) with a population estimate of 8,260,490 inhabitants, of which 82% live in the rural areas (approx. average of 13.5 persons per square km) and an annual growth rate of 55%. South Sudan has an estimated population of 8,260,490 inhabitants (the Sudanese 5th Census 2008), of which 83% live in the rural areas and 17% in the Urban areas (approx. average of 13.5 persons per square km) and xviii Eastern Nile Irrigation System Performance Assessment and Options for Improvements an annual growth rate of 3.8. As per now 2019 the population estimate is 12,778, 250 with growth rate of 3.7 (population projection 2015-2020 by National Bureau of Statistics, March 2015). The main feature of the country is the White Nile river extending over clay plains and slopes gradually rising southward to mountains up to 3 000 meters above sea level in the Imotong Hills. The Sudd wetland is the inland delta of the White Nile and one of the largest swamps worldwide. It consists of lakes, marshes and extensive floodplains, some parts of which are infested by insects which are hazardous to humans and livestock.

The Nile Basin plays a critical role in the development of the riparian countries, particularly in the development of key economic infrastructure such as irrigation schemes and hydropower dams. Irrigated agriculture, fisheries and livestock are the dominant economic activities along the Nile basin; it also supports the livelihoods of more than 160 million people who are involved in rain-fed agriculture mainly in Ethiopia and Sudan. The Nile Basin and the River Nile itself however, are under serious threat from land degradation and related environmental challenges. The main causes of land degradation are the clearing of forests, woodlands, and wetlands for large-scale and smallholder agriculture, overgrazing of rangelands, the use of inappropriate agricultural and grazing practices and over-exploitation of forests and woodlands for fuelwood and charcoal. These factors integrated with other socio-economic and cultural factors lead to soil erosion, high rates of runoff, soil fertility decline, low productivity, flash flooding, water shortages and high sediment discharge. These in turn have serious implications for agricultural productivity, water availability and quality, sedimentation and biodiversity conservation.