Business
Understanding the environmental impact of the Merowe Dam in Sudan
A dated photo of the Merowe Dam – then underconstruction
The multi-billion dollar Merowe Dam on the Nile River more than doubled Sudan’s electricity supply, but its environmental impacts still remain unknown to the public and to the communities it affects.
The Merowe Dam, which was completed in 2010, will affect the aquatic ecology of the Nile River in Sudan by blocking fish migration and degrading water quality.
It will also cause at least eight per cent of Sudan’s annual share in the Nile Water Agreement to evaporate and will produce carbon dioxide and methane, two harmful greenhouse gases.
“Sudanese people are unaware of the devastating environmental impact of the Merowe Dam,” said Ali Askouri, a human rights activist and the representative of the Hamdab Affected People, a group fighting for compensation and accountability for the populations affected by the dam, said.
