By Kor Chop Leek,
This article is a brief narrative of the impact of the climate change crisis on local communities in Unity State [in South Sudan] as a result of the devastating floods. The variation of weather climate conditions and its dynamics in different parts of the country experienced over the past years after independent depicts an alarm of climate change patterns.
The current climatic change results are the existing heavy floods in Unity State and extreme droughts in Eastern Equatoria State. Environmental pollution is another tragic alarm in the floodplain region caused by ongoing oil exploration and drilling while met with acquiescence.
These natural and man-made calamities inflicted an outrageous eviction of civil populations out of their ancestral lands and oil pollution continues to cause environmental harm to the complex diverse ecosystem of the said counties and the Sudd Wetlands. This is also risking wildlife, birds, mammals, and different species inhabiting the Sudd Ecosystem.
The communities of Unity State are trapped in floods for more than four consecutive years in a row. Understanding the legacy of this impact on the community and livestock is the prime objective of this article. The article found that the devastating flooding, scarcity of clean and safe drinking water in many parts of villages in Rubkona and Guit Counties, and the environmental contamination stand as the major threats to the people, livestock, and the Sudd freshwater wetlands and its rich flora and fauna complex ecosystem.
The author proposes that applying flood mitigation strategies, international environmental practice standards protocols, and improvement of good governance in the country shall serve as key lasting solutions while considering some recommendations for immediate action.
The signals of climate change:
Global warming which is currently threatening world peace and security is a dominant agenda widely in debates by the developing and developed nations. The rise of natural calamities (such as floods and droughts patterns) in some parts of Africa in particular brought attention to the third world nations. In East Africa, the increase in water volume in Lake Victoria is an indication of climate change. Heavy floods were experienced in some parts of Uganda in 2020 displacing civilians from their homes.
The River Nile stretches from Lake Victoria in Uganda to the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt and passes via South Sudan and Sudan. The African longest River feeds the Sudd Wetlands in South Sudan which makes the Sudd neutralize water current while storing much volume of water before reaching Malakal in Upper Nile. In seasonal rainy periods, Sudd waters rise triggering floods that affect the adjacent states. In 2020, Sudd signals an abnormal rise.
The climate change crisis in South Sudan has already put an irreversible alarm if no action is taken by the South Sudan government to address it. It is no longer about the unspeakable outrageous destruction the devastating floods have caused in the country but it is about the long-term socioeconomic crisis it has created and how long its impact will stay for years. Early in March 2024, the heat waves rose high up to 45º C (degrees Celsius) in Juba and in Unity State, it is constantly at 42º C to 43º C in April.
The National Ministry of Health declared the closure of schools nationwide. This is the worst experience in the country signaling the impact of global warming already. Droughts occurred several times in some parts of Kapeota, Eastern Equatoria State, while heavy floods are sinking Upper Nile, Jonglei, and Unity States, confirming the indicators of climate change. As the Security Council report pointed out, there have been gradual temperature increases, causing an extreme climate crisis that resulted in heavy floods in the greater Upper Nile region from 2019 till today. Unity state is the worst-hit region (https://www.secuirtycouncilreport.org).
The devastated floods in oil-rich Unity State are entering their fourth year since their occurrence in the southern part of the state in August 2020. In September 2021, the floods submerged the northern part of the state, bringing much of the land surface area under water. Unity State has a total land surface area of 37,836.39 square kilometers (14,609 square miles), (South Sudan Statistical Year Book, March 2011). The Governor of Unity State, Dr. Joseph Monytuil, stated that “about 95% of the land surface of Unity State is under water including the State Capital Bentiu”. He stated that “This has caused huge displacement on the civil populations of which 90% displaced”.
The situation of floods drew the attention of national and international bodies. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) assessment report conducted in 2021 described the tragedy as “one of the worst human disasters of the modern era” (https://unocha.exposure.co). This article has categorized the impacts of floods in Rubkona and Guit Counties into four categories:
The impact of floods on civilians (Rubkona and Guit):
As stated above, the catastrophic floods caused huge displacement and inflicted much humanitarian suffering on civil populations. Based on Sudan’s fifth Population of 2008, Rubkona has a land surface area of 3,597 squares with a total population of 100,236 and a density of 27.9 (South Sudan Statistical Year Book). It has 9 Payams and 37 Bomas and villages. In the Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility (CSRF) report, the estimates of the National Bureau for Statistics (NBS) record is 308,684 and UN-OCHA estimates 342,397 population in 2022.
The number of internally displaced for Rubkona in 2022 reached 216,083 while returnees registered 21,036 in total. Those exclude 2023 and the first quarter of the year 2024. The major causes of the displacement started with the eruption of the South Sudan conflict in 2013, the flooding in 2021, and the ongoing oil operation in the State.
While Guit has a land surface area of 3,432 squares with a total population of 33,004 and a density of 9.6 (SSSYB). It has 7 Payams and 28 Bomas and tens of villages. The NBS estimates in 2022 reached 49,581 while UN-OCHA population estimates put Guit at 70,016 population in 2022. In the same year of 2022, the total of internally displaced persons was 23,193 individuals, while a total of 3,291 retunes were registered (CSRF Report).
The population of estimates for Guit in 2024 is 122,356 (Source: County Health Department report). The influx of the returnees was encouraged by the relative calm witnessed after the signing of the revitalized peace agreement in September 2018, and later the eruption of war in Sudan in April 2023.
The current existing floods have increased people’s vulnerability due to infrastructure damage. This includes homes, schools, churches, health facilities, water points hand pumps, markets as well and roads. Budang and Wathnyona are the most hit Payams with huge need of humanitarian intervention.
The level of sanitation and hygiene is poor as access to clean and safe drinking water is compromised. The local population depends entirely on waterlilies and fishes as means of food. During my assessment of schools in August 2023, Rubkona got only 6 concrete primary schools including 1 secondary school while Guit has 10 concrete primary schools and 1 Secondary School.
All the schools in Guit submerged in water, In Rubkona, a community member said, only two schools, primary and Secondary situated in Rubkona Town, the rest submerged in water. According to the UNICEF Report in 2021, over 100 schools were affected in the whole of Unity State and over 60,000 children have no access to school.
Most of the people displaced by the floods in Rubkona and Guit are currently internally displaced persons widely encamped in and the outskirt of Bentiu town after surrounded with dyke constructed by the United Mission in South Sudan. About 9,976 households (71,424 individuals) were hosted in Bentiu town alone. Some displaced persons were relocated to the northern part of Bentiu (Rotriak) by the State Government before the onset of the floods.
Some communities are trapped in highlands where access to those locations is by local canoes. The farm’s lands and agricultural fields were damaged putting the region food insecure. It is difficult to predict when these floods may recede. Waterborne diseases are on the rise and keep jeopardizing the health of civil populations. The most vulnerable groups victimized in this tragedy are children, women, and the aged. The resources are scarce, causing high competition on the limited resources available and exacerbating economic crisis, hunger, and malnutrition.
The floods made the entire population homeless, and food insecure, children could not attend schools, no access to healthcare, people died of snake bites, no roads, no means of mobility, and no connection. It is a good conclusion that, if a human being is robbed of access to basic social services, he/she is robbed of his/her dignity and values making life meaningless. For example, in Thorgow, Chanlual, Kuer Latjor Islands in Guit is a life in a trap, horrible and difficult.
The future is uncertain and hopeless. These people have to begin a new life after the crash during the post-flood recovery period.
The impact of floods on livestock
Reflecting on this impact, the majority of civilians in Unity State are cattle-raring communities as do the communities in Lakes and Warrap States in Bhar El Ghazal. Each household owns large herds of cattle as well as goats and sheep. Other livestock such as pigs are of small numbers. During the conflict of 2013, many people especially in southern Unity State loses most of their cattle due to cattle raiding. The armed youth from Unity State bordering Warrap and Lakes experience cattle raiding on multiple occasions before and after South Sudan Independent.
It is the same scenario happening in Jonglei and Upper Nile States among the cattle-rearing communities of Murle, Dinka, and the Nuer ethnic groups. Cattle represent a source of socioeconomic income survival to these communities as such is a major cause of violence at the same time in South Sudan.
With the onset of flooding in 2020 which submerged much of the surface land in Unity State, many livestock loss resulted from climate-related. In Rubkona and Guit, much of the surface land is underwater compared to other counties in the State. There are no pastures or grazing grounds for cattle grazing except in the flooded areas.
This causes random movement of cattle keepers in search of grazing grounds. A community member I interacted with in Rubkona stated that the only places not affected by the floods in his county are, Rotriak, Tharwangyiella, and Barkuor, which fall on the northern part of Rubkona County bordering Sudan.
When I visited Rotriak in April 2023 for an assessment about environmental pollution, a community leader expressed concern about the scarcity of pastures for their livestock and how their cattle keep dying because much of the land surface is under water and the small dry areas have no pastures. In Guit County, the only portion parts of dry lands can be found in Kuach, Dandok, Malla, and Kuer Kuol which resisted floods. There are about 14 highlands in Guit inhabited by the flood-affected community.
The devastated floods caused huge migration of cattle herders to high grounds and non-flooded areas. One report pointed out that such movements cause high tensions among the displaced and the host communities, high competition over the grazing lands, generating existing deepening rivalries, increasing risk of cattle raiding which possibly causes retaliation and communal conflict and further violent displacement which lead to the formation of arm groups.
The cattle keepers in Rubkona and Guit for example migrated to the northern and eastern counties in the areas of Rotriak and Kuerbuoni, and Mayom County. The community in the Southern part of Guit moved to Kuach, Kuerkuol, Dankok, Malla, and Koch County, making most of Guit and Rubkona Counties of no human existence.
The impact of floods on the ecosystem
As stated above, the catastrophic floods in Unity State stayed for more than 4 years as many cannot imagine. It is no longer about how much diverse ecosystem is affected in the floodplain of these two sisterly counties, but is about the question of which strategy is in place to restore the destroyed ecosystem and how life can start again in the post-flood recovery period in the future.
The destruction of the ecosystem already generated worries as this may attract desertification due to the destruction of all types of vegetation. There is a looming desertification encroaching from the South Kordofan bordering Unity State to the north of the Country. All forests Rubkona and Guit destroyed as shown in the above photo.
The community also do chop many trees for making shelters, firewood, and charcoals for cooking. It has already caused an engraved environmental degradation, posting long climate risk and resource scarcity.
The other alarming threat is oil contaminants and pollutants mixed with floods and surface water furthering the spread of oil pollution in the environment. Oil operating companies are aware of it as do the government. On 30th April, The National Assembly summoned three national ministers of Health, Petroleum, and of Environment to clarify the alleged oil pollution. Three children born with defects in Pariang Hospital in January, March, and April lined the concern to oil contamination.
The speaker of the Assembly cited improper disposal of oil waste chemicals in swamps where the local community fetches water for drinking. According to one report titled “Toxic Floods “published in May 2023 by PAX organization in the Netherlands, it documented oil contaminants mixed up with floods surface waters while risking humans and animals and spewing pollution into Sudd Water Wetlands. The contaminant continues to affect the flood-resistant plants and automatically wither in water.
As much of the land is underwater, local farmers have no farmlands to cultivate, and no food to produce. This situation already is inviting long-term stay hunger crisis and economic crises.
It is also quite worrying because the heavy metals from oil waste chemicals sipped underground, contaminate and change soil particles and poison the underground water aquifer, affecting the germination of seedlings and plants and shall continue in the future unless a bioremediation program is initiated.
The impact of floods on crude oil exploration and drilling.
In brief, Rubkona, Pariang, Guit, and Koch are the oil-producing counties in Unity State. Both Rubkona and Part of Guit fall under blocks 1, 2, and 4 and part of Block 5A oil production of Unity oilfields operated by Greater Nile Pioneer Operation Company (GPOC) under the concession of China National Petroleum Company (CNPC).
In 2020, Pariang was later created as an independent administrative area under Ruweng. Koch County and part of Guit fall under Block 5A of Tharjaith oilfields production operated by Sudd Petroleum Operating Company (SPOC) under the concession of Petronas.
Each county allocated a percentage of 3% from oil revenues to finance its infrastructural development, and boost agriculture to improve food security, education, and healthcare among others however, the allocations are not being designated for the intended purpose.
Despite the multimillion-dollar oil lucrative business, the life of the common man in the said countries has not been improved socially and economically as expected rather extreme poverty is shooting high.
Unity States are generally still the poorest of the poor States lagged in development. Oil has not improved the socioeconomic livelihoods of the people rather furthering poverty. This is exacerbated by the conflict of 2013.
The abrupt shutdown of the oil installations in all blocks posted outrageous environmental catastrophic damage, as oil pipelines were destroyed and left unprotected during the war period. The damage caused to the environment is a long-term record that is to be paid by the next generations to come, unfortunately.
Tharjaith oil production resumed production after the formation of the Revitalized Government of National Unity in Juba in 2020.
With the onset of floods in August 2020, it disrupted oil activities in Unity and Tharjiath oil blocks. The heavy floods have directly affected the exploration and drilling of new wells though part of Unity oilfields production was not submerged in floods, it equally affected the maintenance of the oil pipelines. Mala Oil production in Guit has not resumed production since it was shot down due to conflict in 2013 coupled later with the emergence of floods in 2021.
According to the Head of the County Health Department in Guit County, “Mala oil fields have over 50 wells, all submerged in floods”. Though a portion of land in Mala did not submerge in flood, it did not include its oilfields. Efforts to resume oil activities in Mala by Sudd Petroleum Oil Company are difficult, costly, and time-consuming.
The pipelines and other oil infrastructures are believed to have been seriously damaged during the conflict and rusted under water which needs repair and maintenance for the oil production to resume.
One factor was that, the area was the hostile war zone between the government and rebel fighters during the South Sudan civil war, Mala oil infrastructures which include the Central Processing Unit, and rigs were subjected to destruction both by the fighting forces in Guit.
The instability in Guit was also exacerbated by the communal violence witnessed throughout the conflict periods fueled by the clan feuds and revenge killing among the Jikany Community. During my academic field research in Rier, Tharjaith oilfields in December 2019, one community member in Rier expressed that, “Rier (Tharjaith) oilfields could have been destroyed like Mala in Guit County had the community of Koch has not united to protect it”.
Another negative impact of floods is that, it has submerged old drilled wells, wastes pits, and ponds, transport drilling toxic wastes chemicals, leaks, and oil spills floating on surface water, and produce water and poisonous mud mixed with heavy metals which are responsible for the irreversible contamination and environmental degradation. The rigs of chemicals used in drilling are being left random exposing high health risks to the community, aqua life, and ambient environment.
In conclusion, the legacy of the climate change crisis in the war-torn region is exacerbated by the acquiescence of the South Sudan government by not waging an aggressive response to natural calamity while the floods are furthering the transportation of oil pollutants into the ambient environment. Local communities lost hope as they cited, poor governance, corruption, insecurity, and hyperinflation are the driving factors that divert the attention of the leadership from the tragedy.
The environmental audit report still has not been made public by the three International audit firms commissioned by the National Ministry of Petroleum in early of 2023. The victims of tragedy in Unity State and Ruweng administrative area will continue to pay the heavy price of the climate crisis legacy coupled with unspeakable oil pollution in the next 50 years.
To address these impacts, the author thought the below possible recommendations are worthy of consideration:
- Unity State government to consider relocating the communities of Rubkona, Guit, and Koch at the vicinities to oilfields far from oil production fields to minimize health risks to humans and livestock.
- Unity State Government and oil consortia to consider community involvement in the decision-making process and incorporate local community views on matters concerning their well-being.
- Community Development funds from oil revenues to finance the construction of heavy dykes to prevent further displacement in conjunction with state and counties governments to initiate the delivery of basic services such as construction of schools, health centers, water network, farming among others to minimize community movement from one place to another in search of basic social services.
- Community of Rubkona and Guit to initiate and adapt flood-resistant strategies to mitigate floods and flood damage.
- Construction of housing with funds from the Community Development allocations in identified areas for oil victims in the said counties so they enjoy the dividends of oil resources in their ancestral lands (The case of Jely in Khartoum and Khasm El Girba in Eastern Sudan).
- South Sudan government to supervise the operation of the oil companies to ensure that environmental protection is highly considered to avoid irreversible damage to the ecosystem at present and in the future while considering the accountability of any oil company violating and polluting the environment.
- Oil consortia to avoid disposing or spewing wastes chemicals into open pits/ponds unlined with plastic sheets but rather employ new strategies of disposing of waste chemicals to protect the environment from contamination (Apply the Chevron disposal technique).
- Government and oil operating companies to initiate bioremediation on oil-polluted areas and old outdated oil wells to mitigate further environmental damage and abuse.
- Both the Central and State governments in Juba and Bentiu to commission independent firms to carry out continuous environmental impact assessment to measure the level of pollution, and contamination and direct immediate action for solution.
- Government to consider establishing the Sudd Wetlands National Board which shall be responsible for the protection and conservation of the Sudd Swamps, wildfire, mammals, and others specified, and its diverse complex ecosystem
Considering the enlisted suggested recommendations, the author believes that this shall not only address the impact of climate change and oil pollution in Unity State at the moment but shall holistically transform the life of the civil population of Rubkona, Guit, and the entire oil-producing States.
The Author is a Researcher and Executive Director for Sudd Environment Agency (SEA) based in South Sudan. He is reachable through korpuoch@gmai.com or +21912511115/+211921511118
