River cleaning machinery arrive in Unity State. | Photo: Office of the Governor/Facebook.

The Undersecretary in the Ministry of Environment said Saturday clearing of the River Naam in Unity State cannot be conducted without a study to determine its environmental consequences.

Joseph Africano Bartel made the remarks as the government plans to conduct Feasibility Studies and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment to determine the possible consequences of the cleaning of waterways in Unity State.

This comes a month after an official in Unity State announced that the Naam River cleaning project would kick off shortly after the machinery was shipped from Juba to Bentiu.

It is not clear why the initiative has stalled.

“We know flooding has impacted that place (Unity State), and people are looking for ways of mitigating the impact of flooding,” he said on the state-owned television SSBC.

“There were some suggestions for dredging and now cleaning and clearing, but all those activities cannot be taken without a comprehensive environmental and social impact assessment.”

Undersecretary Bartel now says the International Organization for Migration has agreed to mobilize funds to support the initiative.

“So, IOM has offered to give some assistance in that regard and today we have given them a breakdown of some of the activities that are costly and needed.”

“They will be looking into it and probably next week on Monday, we will get a report from them on how we can move forward.”

On his part, Assad Mohamed, the IOM Head of Operation said the environment ministry has taken the right step by ensuring that environmental and social impact assessment be conducted.

“We are glad that the ministry is taking the right step in making sure that before any activity can happen in Unity State regarding the flood management approach, a proper environmental impact study is done,” Mohamed said.

In March 2023, President Salva Kiir directed the Ministry of Finance and Planning to avail funds for feasibility studies on the Naam River and building the resilience of flood-affected communities.

The River Naam, which is one of the tributaries of the Nile flowing from the Bahr El Ghazal through northern Unity State, has been the target of a controversial project to open Nile tributaries north of the countries.

The government gambles that the initiative, widely speculated to cause irreversible environmental damage, will ease the flow of access water downstream and alleviate the catastrophic flooding that has inundated the sudd region.