People & Perspectives Flashcards
1
Q
Who and how do people use the RNDB?
A
Ancient Egyptians
Modern Egyptians (dams - hydro-electric power)
Agriculture (pastoral and crops)
Tourism
2
Q
What’s the basin area?
A
3,254,853km^2
3
Q
What’s the average population density?
A
46 people/km^2
4
Q
What are the areas of highest population, and what is the population?
A
Population is >500 people/km^2 in: Kigali, Rwanda Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Khartoum, Sudan Northern Egypt, close to the river
5
Q
Explain how the perspectives of the Dinka people have changed over time
A
- Cattle are important in Sudanese people’s lives
- Over 80% of the population (10million) in South Sudan is involved with herding livestock
- Many pastoralists rely on RNDB lands for the livestock to graze, therefore having a social perspective as it is vital for their livelihoods
- Dinka (ethnic group) people are an example
- For Dinka, cattle are a measure of wealth and also his social status (more women likely to marry, more potential children)
- The milk can be exchanged for goods or directly consumed
- Increasing variability of climate has affected pastures
- Flooding is more severe and the dry season is more intense
- Predicted that the rainy seasons in the RNDB will become more intense and will deteriorate pastures from further flooding
- Dinka perspectives changed to cope with climate change
- Dinka shepherds have adjusted their lives to improve their livelihoods
- They’ve become less nomadic and more settled, planting crops and cultivating lands
- Social perspective has changed to environmental
6
Q
Explain how the perspectives of the modern Egyptians have changed over time
A
- Social and economic perspective changing to environmental
- 1960’s Egypt built the Aswan High Dam, creating Lake Nasser - biggest artificial lake globally
- The dam produced hydro-electric power, water for irrigation and new fishing industries
- Farmers get three crop cycles a year inside of one with the annual floods
- The Aswan High Dam is important to Egypt and is essential for their lives
- Shows how they utilise the River Nile from social and economic perspectives
- The dam is worth approx $500million per year
- RNDB faced with environmental threats
- Seepage from the dam threatens ancient monuments with increased ground water levels
- Salinisation means water cannot be used for drinking or irrigation
- Reduced soil fertility due to the stopping of floods
- Land is being degraded, water quality is declining, wetlands and forests are lost, etc
- These issues directly impact the Egyptians’ lives
- Environmental perspective is being developed
- The Nile Basin Initiative begun in 1999 with the Irrigation Rehabilitation Project in 2007 and others, aim to develop the existing agriculture in the area, improving it with more efficient use of water
- Therefore social and economic changed to environmental
7
Q
Explain how Dinka people’s perceptions have affected how they interacted with the land
A
- Become less nomadic and settled down to plant crops and cultivate land
- Use more resources in an area and deplete them
- Use lots of resources in one place, rather than few resources from lots of places
- Impacts the land in the long run (may not be sustainable for the future)
- More use of the land means more plants and crops are being grown than before
- Any excess meat that goes off decomposes into the soil, giving nutrients and helping the soil that isn’t as alluvial anymore
8
Q
Explain how modern Egyptians’ perceptions have affected how they interact with the land
A
- RNDB faced with environmental threats
- Seepage from the dam threatens ancient monuments with increased ground water levels
- Salinisation means water cannot be used for drinking or irrigation
- Reduced soil fertility due to the stopping of floods
- Land is being degraded
- Water quality is declining
- Wetlands and forests are lost
- Overexploitation of natural resources
- Pollution is increasing
- Environmental health is decreasing overall but projects have been put in place to help maintain/restore what is there
