Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nile River Basin

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Wetland Book

Abstract

The Nile, the World’s longest river, is well endowed with wetlands, including the Sudd, one of the World’s largest. The wetlands are not only biodiversity hotspots but also vital for the livelihoods and wellbeing of people. In total there are 14 Ramsar Sites in the basin and thousands of smaller, lesser-known wetlands. Many of these wetlands sustain rural communities through the provision of drinking water and by supporting fisheries, livestock and cultivation. There are a number of current threats to the basin wetlands, including inappropriate agricultural practices, overfishing, invasive species, and extraction of minerals and oil. Ambitious plans for hydropower and irrigation development, as well as rapid population increase and climate change, all pose future challenges to the sustainable management of the wetlands.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bessière C, de Savignac, X. Technical data for a possible Jonglei Canal. Water Storage and Hydropower Development for Africa. 2013. International Conference and Exhibition: Addis Ababa 16–18 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixon A, Hailu A, Semu T. Local institutions, social capital and sustainable wetland management: experiences from western Ethiopia. In: Wood A, Dixon A, McCartney MP, editors. Wetlands management and sustainable livelihoods in Africa. London: Routledge and Earthscan; 2013. p. 85–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dumont HJ, editor. The Nile: origins, environments, limnology and human ose, Monographiae Biologicae, vol. 89. Dordrecht: Springer; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Africover – east Africa module: land cover mapping based on satellite remote sensing. Rome: FAO; 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamberts E. The effects of Jonglei Canal operation scenarios on the Sudd swamps in Southern Sudan [master’s thesis]. Enschede: University of Twente; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehman JT. Lake Victoria. In: Dumont HJ, editor. The Nile, Monographie Biolgicae, vol. 89. Dordrecht: Springer; 2009. p. 215–41.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lehner B, Döll P. Development and validation of a global database of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands. J Hydrol. 2004;296:1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rebelo LM, McCartney MP. Wetlands of the Nile Basin: distribution, functions and contributions to livelihoods. In: Awulachew SB, Smakthin V, Molden D, Peden D, editors. The Nile River Basin: water agriculture, governance and livelihoods. Abingdon: Routledge; 2012. p. 212–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Said R. The River Nile: geology, hydrology and utilization. Oxford: Pergamon; 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutcliffe J. The hydrology of the Nile Basin. In: Dumont HJ, editor. The Nile, Monographie Biolgicae, vol. 89. Dordrecht: Springer; 2009. p. 335–64.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sutcliffe J, Parks Y. The hydrology of the Nile, IAHS special publication, vol. 5. Wallingford: IAHS Press; 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Africa environment outlook 2: our environment, our wealth. Nairobi: UNEP; 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Witte FM, van Oijen MJP, Sibbing FA. Fish Fauna of the Nile. In: Dumont HJ, editor. The Nile, Monographie Biolgicae, vol. 89. Dordrecht: Springer; 2009. p. 647–75.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations (WMO). Hydrometeorological survey of the catchments of lakes Victoria, Kyoga & Albert. Geneva: WMO; 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Saharan flooded grasslands. Available from: www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/at/at0905_full.html. Accessed June 2010.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecosystem Services, International Water Management Institute, Ban Nongviengkham, Xaythany District, P.O. Box 4199, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    Matthew McCartney

  2. Water Futures, International Water Management Institute, Ban Nongviengkham, Xaythany District, P.O. Box 4199, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    Lisa-Maria Rebelo

  3. Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Mekong, International Water Management Institute, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    Matthew McCartney & Lisa-Maria Rebelo

Authors
  1. Matthew McCartney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lisa-Maria Rebelo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew McCartney .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    C. Max Finlayson

  2. Department of Natural Resources, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada

    G. Randy Milton

  3. Nature Management Services, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    R. Crawford Prentice

  4. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    Nick C. Davidson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

McCartney, M., Rebelo, LM. (2018). Nile River Basin. In: Finlayson, C., Milton, G., Prentice, R., Davidson, N. (eds) The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4001-3_89

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation