Problem
Reduction of soil fertility downstream due to impoundment
Incidence:
River Nile used to deposit 100 million tons of sediment a year on nearly one million hectares of land in the Nile Valley. After the building of the Aswan Dam, the Nile deposits only a few tons of sediment per year, most of that comes as a result of riverbed erosion, meaning the gradual loss of riverbed soils. To compensate the silt trapped behind the dam, Egypt must apply artificial fertilizers on an ever increasing scale.
Broader Problems:
Soil infertilityIrresponsible soil managementDestruction of land productivityDeclining agricultural landEnvironmental degradation due to creation of dams Values:
FertilityInfertilityReduction Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
E: Emanations of other problems Date of last update
23.10.2019 – 17:07 CEST