Nile River Pollution
Name:Funannan Student ID:S07569
Research paper supervisor:Dr.Seku Conde
Minzu University of China
2007-2008 Academic Year
Abstract ：
The past one hundred years have marked a period of incredible human advancement. However, these advancements have wrought enormous negative impacts on the environment. One such region that has been impacted is the Nile river. The Nile is a crucial resource for all of the surrounding communities, and the pollution of the area does not only affect the natural landscape, but the African people also. Being used by humans for so long has changed this noble river in many ways, and it is these changes we will be looking at for our presentation. I will look into the history of human life along this river and see what the human presence has wrought. And what should we do to protect the Nile river.
Keywords:
Nile River ;pollution; Humans ;The Aswan High Dam; share responsibility
Introduction:
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the Nile river pollution. This paper includes the Characteristics of the Nile River, human impacts and natural impacts on the Nile river, the pollution and the conclusion. Human developments along the river have been going on for millennia. All cultures that have moved through the area have left their mark upon the river. Whether they wish to use it for transportation, take the fish that dwell in its depths, or even try to harness its mighty power, humans have indelibly made their impact on the river for better or for worse.
The fishing industry has made a heavy impact on the river, and the introduction of the Nile perch to the river and Lake Victoria is one of the most harmful events that have occurred in the waterways to date. The carnivorous fish was introduced to the river ecosystem sometime in the mid-1900s, though the precise date is not known. The species originates from Lake Turkana, and was introduced to the area primarily to support the fishing industry. Lake Victoria is home to an incredibly diverse fish population, but the fish that lived in the lake were mostly small-bodied and did not provide the burgeoning fish industries with all that they needed, so the heftier Nile perch seemed like a godsend. The perch adapted quickly to the environment, and its population grew exponentially during the 1970s and 80s. The fish, being carnivorous, swiftly consumed vast quantities of the lake’s native species, and many varieties of fish went extinct as a result while others experienced population fallouts. The Nile perch has since become a dominant species in the river, and the once diverse ecosystem has been simplified.
Another problem that the Nile ecosystem faces is that of pollution, and the majority of this comes from human activity. There are many sources of this pollution. In rural areas, sewage is dumped into the river as a result of poor sanitation conditions. This is a problem because citizens of Egypt, for example, "Consumed more animal protein during the second half of the 20th century than they did previously. As food is metabolized, phosphorus and nitrogen are released as waste products in feces and urine" (Nixon, 1). These increasing amounts of phosphorous and nitrogen, when dumped into the water can create algal blooms which can lead to the suffocation of fish. Many industrial establishments do not follow the law, and drain untreated wastewater into the river or even inject it into the groundwater. Usage of pesticides and fertilizers also pollute the river, as agricultural practices near the river use a lot of chemicals. Most of the river’s water is considered fairly high quality, with only a few "black zones," and efforts to reduce the number of pollutants entering the river are underway.⑴
1. Characteristics
The Nile is the longest River in the world stretching for 4, 187 miles. The Nile flows from south to north and is formed by three major tributaries: the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and Atbara. Its basin covers more than 1,100,000 square miles. In spite of evaporation, it still gushes into the sea at the rate of 420,000 cubic feet per second, roughly 1,000,000,000 gallons an hour. The river system drains parts of ten countries from Tanzania northward to Egypt. It is the only major river that rises in the equatorial tropics and flows through desert. For centuries, millions of North Africans have depended on the water of the Nile for their crops. The two other river systems join to form the mainstream of the Nile in central Sudan. The Nile valley and the Nile delta rank among the world's most fertile farming areas. Until 1968, water from the Nile deposited fertile-silt in the valley and on the delta where the Nile flows into the Mediterranean.⑵
1)Use by Humans
The flooding of the Nile renders the narrow strip of land on either side of the river extremely fertile. Intensive agriculture is practiced by the majority of the peasant population. As the flooding recedes sowing and plowing begin using primitive equipment. Water from the Nile enables farmers in the valley and the delta to raise various crops the year around. The Nile Valley and the Delta make up a total of about 3 percent of Egypt's area.
2) Water Quality
Commercial industry is a large cause of pollution along the Nile. Industries along the banks of the Nile have trapped priceless soil beneath miles of concrete. Discharges of toxic chemicals from factories into the delta and other parts of the river threaten the fishing industry and the supply of clean drinking water. Ground water is declining in quality from industrial abuse damaging the once rich agriculture, especially rice and cotton.
There has been a long history of disputes among the nine African nations that the Nile flows through before reaching the Mediterranean. These countries are now forming the International Nile Basin Association to control the usage of the resource. The main countries concerned are Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt. Historically Egypt has had the most control over the Nile. These other countries are fighting to have more usage rights but the concern is that they will pollute the water and by the time it runs through Egypt to the Mediterranean it will be detrimental to the fertile Nile Delta.
3)Aquatic Life
The Nile River is full of different and wonderful species! These many species include the crocodile that can get up to 28 feet long. Surprisingly even with the threat of hunters the crocodiles still thrive. Their jaws are so powerful they can crush rocks with them.
The birds are very plentiful. The numbers of species on the Nile is about 200. They include a fascinating bird called the Ibis. It has long legs and is the color white. In ancient times Ibis was the name of a god.
The fish are also great in numbers. They number about 190 species. One of these is the great Nile Perch.
2. Human impacts and natural impacts on the Nile River
1)The Aswan High Dam benefits and disadvantages
The Aswan High Dam was the second dam constructed in the Nile River. The first Aswan dam, constructed in 1889, insufficiently held the water, and was raised in 1912, and again in 1933. When the dam threatened to overflow for a third time in 1946, it was decided that a second dam was to be built a few miles upstream. For the first time in history, man has the ability to control the annual Nile River Flood. During the rainy season, the water is captured by the dam, stored until times of drought, and then released as needed. The necessity to control the annual flood arose from two principal concerns. Since the soils surrounding the Nile were so fertile, many more people were migrating to the region. Over a seventy year period, “The population of Cairo grew from 2 million to over 16 million people”. With the increasing population came the concern that the flood would become increasingly dangerous. Also, the annual flood was unreliable, as one scientist explains, “One year, the floods might be low, resulting in weak soil that produced few crops. The next year, the floods might be high, destroying buildings, homes, roads, and washing away important features of the land” . Because of the increasing population, the unreliability of the flood, and various other factors, the Aswan High Dam was built, and man now can control the water flow of the Nile River. ⑶
Benefits
The High Aswan Dam had a positive impact on the rapid growing development of Aswan province, especially for the tourism industry, and the fishing success that occurred after a brief decline in fishing stocks. The majority of the Egyptian population lives in close proximity to the river, which means that the majority of the population depends on the river for irrigation, drinking water, electricity, or transportation. The dam allowed for irrigation systems to be built, thus increasing the amount of land that farmers could utilize to cultivate their crops. Many farmers depend on the dam to irrigate their farms and as you can see from Figure one, Egypt [...]
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