Word: canals
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...permanently clogged with reeds and papyrus and infested with 63 species of mosquito. From May to October, the White Nile floods and temporarily extends the swamp another 4,300 sq. mi. Says Daniel Yong, a member of the area's nomadic Dinka tribe and a Jonglei Canal project official: "In the rainy season there is water everywhere, but in the dry season you can die of thirst." The Sudd proved an obstacle to 19th century explorers, but today it is more of a hindrance to economic development. It can take a year for water entering the swamp to course...
...canal skirting the Sudd was first envisioned by British colonial administrators at the turn of the century. The current $260 million project is being built by a French consortium, the Compagnie de Constructions Internationales (CCI). To dig the 15-ft.-deep, 170-ft.-wide channel, nearly half of which is now excavated, CCI is using 20 bulldozers, five road graders, three cranes and five shovels. The star performer is clearly "Sarah," a West German-built excavator that was named after a Sudanese official's daughter. By the time the Jonglei Canal is finished, the bucket wheeler will have moved...
Predictably, the project has drawn some critical fire. Many southern Sudanese, who are black and often Christian, resent the diversion of their water to benefit the traditionally dominant Muslims of the north and of Egypt. But Sudanese officials say construction of the canal and a parallel all-weather roadway will aid the 6 million inhabitants of the south, enhancing communications and encouraging economic growth...
Another worry is that the channel will upset the migration patterns of wildlife, particularly antelopes. To minimize the canal's impact, 160 miles of the waterway will have gradually sloping embankments to permit animals to swim across...
...issues raised by the digging of the Jonglei Canal are so complex that many environmentalists caution against any predictions. Not so British Biologist Stephen Cobb, who headed one Jonglei survey team. "It won't be the disaster as first suspected," he says. "On balance, it is going to make life better for a lot of people." -ByAnastasia Toufexis. Reported byRobertC. Wurmstedt/Jonglei