South Sudan and Sudan: Potential Transboundary Water Issues Caused by the Forming of the World’s Youngest Country Johnny Sullivan and Dave Christiansen

+ Overview July 9, 2011: South Sudan secedes from Sudan Culmination of decades of fighting Can new nation succeed? What water issues does it face?

+ Geographical Overview Ethiopia Eritrea Egypt Chad Central African Republic Congo Libya DR Congo Uganda Kenya

+ Geographical Overview PopulationArea (sq. mi) North Sudan30,894,000728,215 South Sudan8,260,490239,285

+ Ethnic Group Distribution

+ Religion Distribution

+ Language Distribution

+ Infant Mortality Rate

+ Primary School Completion

+ “Poor” Food Consumption

+ Conflict Civil war between Northern and Southern regions of Sudan Sudan granted independence Christian/Traditional African southerners feared religious oppression from the Muslim north 1972: Addis Ababa Agreement ended fighting, created Southern Sudan Autonomous Region First Sudanese Civil War ( )

+ Conflict Second Sudanese Civil War ( ) Civil war between the Government of Sudan and rebel groups in south Government abolished the Addis Ababa Agreement, attempting to declare all of Sudan an Islamic state Fighting ended in 2005 with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement

Comprehensive Peace Agreement Document designed to end Second Sudanese Civil War 6 years of autonomy for South Sudan Referendum in % of South Sudanese approved independence Officially seceded on July 9, 2011

Comprehensive Peace Agreement Exact location of border never decided Frequent land allocation disputes 80% of region’s oil reserves located in South Sudan, but established administration in North Sudan Talks to share oil 50/50, but never codified Either way, Sudan loses at least 1/3 of its oil revenue South Sudan considering circumventing Sudan’s oil infrastructure, working with Kenya

+ Current State of Both Countries Water Resources In terms of climate, South Sudan is in much better shape than Sudan Main Sources of Water Sudan: Nile River South Sudan: Rainwater harvesting SudanSouth Sudan Average Annual Rainfall (cm) 10120

+ Current State of Both Countries Water Resources In terms of infrastructure, Sudan is much more developed than South Sudan Since the CPA in 2005, South Sudan has been working to build infrastructure The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation Not-for-profit Organizations Water for South Sudan

+ Current State of Both Countries Economy The global financial crisis greatly affected the progress of South Sudan, bringing a halt to many infrastructure improvement programs Conflict Continued conflict in the Darfur region and elsewhere in Sudan have created a great deal of uncertainty in the future of both countries

+ Potential Future Issues Water Resources Sudan relies heavily on the White Nile River for water, which flows through South Sudan South Sudan could exert influence over Sudan if dams were to be constructed Currently, South Sudan is far too poor to accomplish this However, if they are able to establish themselves, this could create potential for transboundary water issues

+ Potential Future Issues Water Resources If South Sudan decides to join the Nile Basin Initiative, more countries could be impacted than just Sudan If South Sudan sides with Sudan and Egypt, the status quo, which involves Egypt receiving a large percentage of the Nile’s water, will be continued If South Sudan sides with other upstream countries like Ethiopia, may tip the scales towards a more even distribution of the water.

+ Discussion Questions Do you think it likely that South Sudan will remain a sovereign nation, or will it dissolve due to a lack of resource infrastructure? How does the likelihood of another war affect this? If South Sudan were able to exert influence over Sudan by, for instance, constructing dams along the White Nile or circumventing Sudan’s oil distribution infrastructure, how do you think this would affect the region? Sudan is much more established in terms of infrastructure compared to South Sudan. Considering question 2, do you think Sudan would ever consider helping South Sudan develop their infrastructure with the hopes of deterring South Sudan from constructing dams, etc.? What role, if any, should the rest of the world play in this dispute?