The Equatorial Nile Project and Its Effects in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Being the Report of the Jonglei Investigation Team.

Abstract

The conservation of water, the regulation of rivers for irrigation purposes, and the production of hydro-electric power are matters of growing importance and interest in the world today. Increases in populations and the demand for higher standards of living mean that natural resources must be used for the benefit of mankind with maximum efficiency. These observations are particularly true of the Nile Valley. Both the Blue Nile and the White Nile pass through a variety of country, and both are a source of livelihood. For the inhabitants. They make possible irrigation schemes in Egypt and the Northern Sudan; the natural fluctuations of the White Nile playa vital part in the present economy of the peoples of the Southern Sudan; in East Africa the waters of the Nile are a source of hydro-electric power for industrial development and may also be required for irrigation in the future. Both rivers cross national • frontiers and are of international concern. It would be idle to deny that these matters have the widest political implications, but we wish to state at once that the political aspects are no concern of ours. The opinions expressed are our own and not necessarily those of the Sudan Government to whom this report is submitted, and we are concerned only to present the facts as they appear to us as the result of our investigation. It is the earnest hope of the Jonglei Investigation Team that its contributions to knowledge of that part of the White Nile system with which it is concerned may be of assistance in finding the best form of river control for the benefit of all inhabitants of the Nile Valley