Sudan (country)

C

Natural Resources

The primary natural resources of Sudan are water, supplied by the Nile system, and relatively fertile soils. However, problems in obtaining adequate supplies of drinkable water persist, as does desertification and soil erosion. Large areas of cultivable land are situated in the region between the Blue Nile and the Atbara in the east, and in the area between the Blue and White Niles, known as the Gezira (Arabic, “island”), in the centre of Sudan. Other cultivable land is found in the narrow Nile valley above Khartoum and in the valleys of the plains region. Irrigation is extensively employed; the Gezira, focus of the cotton crop, is the largest irrigated area under single management in the world, covering more than 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres). The country also has vast areas of grasslands and forests, including acacia forests in the Sahelian region, the source of gum arabic, which has been traded for more than 2,000 years.

Small deposits of minerals occur, the most important of which are chrome ore, copper, and iron ore. Petroleum was discovered in south-western Sudan in the early 1980s after nearly ten years of exploration by international oil companies.

D

Plants and Animals

Vegetation is sparse in the desert zones of Sudan. Various species of acacia occur in the regions contiguous to the Nile Valley. Large forested areas are found in central Sudan, especially in the river valleys, although fuel-wood cutting and grazing has reduced their size considerably. Among the most common trees are the hashab, talh, heglig (Balanites Aegyptiaca), and several species of acacia, including sunt, laot, and kittr. Such trees as ebony, silag, and baobab are common in the Blue Nile valley. Ebony, mahogany, and other varieties of hardwood trees are found in the White Nile basin. Other species of indigenous vegetation include cotton, papyrus, castor-oil plants, and rubber plants.

Animal life is abundant in the plains and equatorial regions of Sudan. Elephants were once numerous in the southern forests but have been virtually exterminated in the civil war. Crocodiles and hippopotamuses abound in the rivers. Other large animals include giraffes and leopards. Baboons and monkeys, various indigenous species of tropical birds, and poisonous reptiles are also found; many migrant bird species are also seen, as the Nile is a major stopping point for birds migrating to southern Africa for the winter. Insects include seroot flies and tsetse flies, which infest the equatorial belt; mosquitoes are found over most of the country making malaria endemic.

E

Environmental Concerns

Scarce resources, drought, and civil war have led to widespread famine and environmental destruction in Sudan since the 1990s. Only 73 per cent (1990-1998 estimate) of the population has access to a safe supply of fresh water.

Sudan suffers periodic famine due to poverty and drought. The long-running civil war exacerbated the shortage of food. Fighting displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians who relied on subsistence farming, preventing them from planting crops or tending livestock. Traditional fuels such as wood provide 76.5 (1996) per cent of Sudan's energy supply, and the demand for charcoal has led to the clearing of many Sudanese forests. Deforestation, overgrazing, and poor land management practices all speed the process of desertification, as the Sahara encroaches on to previously arable and forested land.

It has been estimated that there are more than 1 million land mines buried in Sudan, although Sudanese officials believe there may be as many as 3 million. Some were laid as a part of the desert warfare of World War II, while other mines were deployed during the country's more recent civil conflicts. Sudan has designated 3.6 per cent (1997) of its land as protected areas, although poaching threatens animal populations throughout the country.

Sudan has ratified international agreements protecting biodiversity, endangered species, and the ozone layer, and the country has signed treaties limiting nuclear testing and whaling. The country is party to the World Heritage Convention and the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Sudan also participates in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program.

III

Population

The population of northern Sudan is composed principally of peoples of Nubian and of mixed African and Arab descent, divided into numerous tribes, speaking different languages, but united in a predominantly Muslim culture. Nilotic peoples predominate in the south. Other ethnic groups in northern Sudan include the Beja, Jamala, and Nuba peoples. The major Nilotic groups in southern Sudan are the Dinka, Nuer, and Shilluk; Azande are found in the south-east. In 2005 about 59 per cent of the population was rural.

A

Population Characteristics

Sudan has a population (2007 estimate) of 42,292,929, giving the country an average population density of about 18 people per sq km (46 per sq mi). The most densely settled areas are around Khartoum and in central Sudan, around the White and Blue Niles. Civil war, unrest, and famine have profoundly disturbed traditional patterns of ethnic distribution and of settlement, mainly as a result of attempts to spread Islamic influence. The mainly African population of the south has been almost totally displaced, many thousands have died, and hundreds of thousands more are living as refugees, either in neighbouring countries, or in camps around the northern towns. Inter-ethnic fighting and military activity has disrupted the lives of the nearly 11 per cent of the population practising a nomadic lifestyle.