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Saving the gash delta, Sudan
Author(s) -
Kirkby J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.435
Subject(s) - subsistence agriculture , delta , irrigation , livelihood , agriculture , production (economics) , corporation , geography , business , engineering , economics , archaeology , finance , ecology , macroeconomics , aerospace engineering , biology
This article looks at a seasonal river flooded irrigation system in eastern Sudan called the Gash Delta. The Gash Delta, as an irrigation system, has been managed since the 1900s, firstly by the Anglo‐Egyptian colonial administration and currently by the Gash Delta Agricultural Corporation (GDAC). The Gash Delta supports a range of ethnic groups who have a diversity of production strategies, some of which are more successful than others. Since the 1980s, there has been a recognition of a breakdown of the irrigation system, illustrated by the declining surface areas available for agriculture and a general degradation of the physical production base. This has had negative impacts on the ethnic groups who rely on the Gash Delta for subsistence and livelihood. This paper examines the process of degradation and the looks at the possibility for rehabilitating the Gash Delta. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.