Is Ethiopia responsible for the appearance of Nile crocodiles in Khartoum?

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CAIRO A state of anticipation reigns in Egypt, after the appearance of the Nile crocodiles in Khartoum. Meanwhile, Sudanese officials have warned citizens against approaching the Nile after the completion of the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), in the absence of an agreement with downstream countries, l ‘Egypt and Sudan.

In a July 30 press release, the director of the Department of Civil Defense in Khartoum, Major General Othman al-Atta, warned citizens against approaching or swimming in the Nile. , as the country experiences major flooding, causing an increase in the water levels of the Nile and causing the emergence of predatory crocodiles and snakes of the Nile. Atta also advised against using the Nile boats.

The situation in Sudan has raised concerns among Egyptians who fear that the situation will affect their country. Egyptian newspaper El-Watan reported on August 1 that citizens saw a crocodile emerging from the water in the village of Zefta in Gharbia governorate, northern Egypt. The crocodile crawled on the asphalt for a distance of 100 meters (328 feet) before returning to the water. The incident sowed panic among the villagers. But the under-secretary of the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Adel Abdel Qadir, denied the presence of crocodiles in this area.

Observers and experts who spoke to Al-Monitor said Nile crocodiles are not GERD’s only negative environmental impact. Other effects, such as soil salinity and the disappearance of certain animals and plants, result from environmental changes caused by the dam.

Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia did not reach a binding legal agreement on the operation of the GERD and the infill process. Negotiations have stalled although the issue was raised for the second time before the UN Security Council in July, but without significant progress. Ethiopia has started the second filling of the dam reservoir despite the objection of Cairo and Khartoum.

Nader Nour el-Din, professor of water resources at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor by phone that Ethiopia did not keep the amount it declared in the second GERD fill. In addition, he failed to coordinate with downstream countries Egypt and Sudan and insisted on unilateral filling of the dam in the absence of an agreement, he said, adding that this had caused an increase in the water levels of the Blue Nile in Khartoum, as well as with increased rains during the flood season which resulted in a huge increase in the number of crocodiles in Khartoum.

Ethiopia did not store the amount it had planned for the second fill of the GERD, which amounted to 13.5 billion cubic meters of water, and only managed to store 3 billion meters cubic meters, in addition to the 5 billion cubic meters that were stored in the first fill in 2020.

Nour el-Din noted that the crocodiles from Khartoum will not reach Egypt because of the Aswan High Dam which pushes huge crocodiles towards Lake Nasser, and that only small crocodiles can pass through the openings. This explains why some Sudanese farmers have found crocodiles on their land.

He added that the adverse effects on the environment in Egypt and Sudan are not limited to the spread of crocodiles, but include the ecological fragility of the Nile Delta in Egypt due to salty sea water and lack of ‘fresh water to solve the problem, as well as the salinity of the soil and the reduction of its fertility, and the savagery of some weeds and the disappearance of others due to the drought, and the disappearance of some river animals like frogs and fish. The agricultural sector in Cairo and Khartoum will be the most affected by the Ethiopian dam.

Abbas Sharaki, head of the Department of Water Resources and Geology at the Faculty of African Studies at Cairo University, believes that the emergence of these predatory crocodiles in Khartoum is linked to the floods and the Ethiopian dam lake, which is 100 kilometers (62 miles) long and about 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide and contains about 9 billion cubic meters of water.

Sharaki told Al-Monitor by phone that the water in the lake, which covered inaccessible places before the GERD was built, contains wild insects and reptiles that can reach Sudan through rushing water. GERD Lake does not contain turbines that prevent the passage of crocodiles, he explained. Therefore, their frequent occurrence in Khartoum with increasing flooding is a natural repercussion of GERD, he added.

He said that with the floods that feed the dam, there is only one narrow passage that is 250 meters (820 feet) wide. Some of the water passes through it, and the rest of the flood water passes over the dam, and the water from the crocodile-filled lake rushes with the water from the top of the dam to Sudan, he said. he explains.

There are other environmental effects such as climate change and the activation of earthquakes in the region where the Ethiopian dam lake is located, according to Sharaki.

He added: But the situation in Egypt is completely different from that of Sudan, as the Aswan High Dam keeps large predatory crocodiles away thanks to its turbines which prevent their passage. Water passes through holes and turbines, and crocodiles would die if they tried to cross. GERD, on the other hand, does not have turbines.

Dia el-Din el-Qossy, water resources expert and former advisor to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, called on Egypt to prepare for all scenarios to deal with the negative repercussions of GERD, because water security in Cairo is an existential problem. publish. Egypt, he stressed, will not accept any compromise or neglect of its historic rights in the waters of the Nile. This position is that of all Egyptians, and it is unanimous.

Qossy told Al-Monitor that Ethiopia has more than once refused to conduct studies on the security of GERD and its environmental implications for the region because it is well aware of the negative repercussions of drought and desertification. caused by water scarcity. These affect the agricultural area in downstream countries and have a huge impact on food security, he said.

He added that crocodiles have been present in the Nile since before GERD, although the dam lake helped increase their numbers in Khartoum during the flooding period. This is normal, and it is much less harmful compared to water damage and the threat to food security, he said.

Qossy called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities to pressure Ethiopia to sign a binding agreement that preserves the historic rights of Egypt and Sudan.

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