The country is rich with water resources such as the transboundary Nile and its tributaries, underground water, and rainy water.

According to the officials, the country is yet to develop its own water system policy for managing its water in urban areas.

South Sudan is a midstream country on the white and eastern Nile systems.

Since the country’s independence in 2011, surface waters have been flowing with little or no control.

Prof. Tag Elkhazin, a Sudanese-born Canadian renowned World expert on the Nile water said South Sudan needs to develop its own water policy based on national consensus.

“There is a need for a government policy that comes out of national consensus because it impacts the lives of every one of us,” said Prof. Tag Elkhazin.

“Every human being is impacted by the policy of the water and I would also urge there is a big difference between water policies and water politics,

“Our concern here as experts in water policy. Also, when it comes to water politics, I will suggest that we look into what we call interdependence,

“Somebody wants water from me, what do I want from him, what can you give me?

“You cannot give me something that is not permanent and take something that is permanent from me. So the value is to be equitable.”

Deng Majok Chol, another researcher at Oxford University in the UK agrees.

He said developing the Water sector in South Sudan requires good governance, technology, innovation and fundamental basis in the sector.

Majok however cautioned the country’s leaders against what he referred to as a monopoly that may lead to imperialism behaviors.

“There are institutions that can give our national experts opportunities and our relevant Ministries to collaborate with them,” Deng Majok Chol said.

“To do a long-range study, to modal whether we will have more water or less water and they can modal from the presentation today to the midcentury or 50 years from now and even a hundred years from now,

“Once you have the result of that modeling, it gives you leverage when you talk to all other countries in the river basin,

“But if they feed you with their own data, they come with their own project, they come with their own operator, they come with their own machine, that is called monopoly and reminds us of imperialistic behavior that happened a hundred years ago.”

South Sudan is home to the largest wetland, with an estimated area of approximately 57,000 km² represents one of the largest freshwater ecosystems in the world.

According to the UNESCO World Heritage, the Sudd wetland increases up to 90,000 km² and gradually decreases to about 42,000 km² depending on the high seasonal floods.

It is internationally recognized for its unique ecological attributes that include various endangered mammalian species, antelope migrations, millions of Palearctic migratory birds, and large fish populations.

A large number of inter-African bird migrants also rely on the Sudd and surrounding habitats as a dry season refuge.

Despite having this potential resource, the country’s First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar says South Sudan is yet to realize the required benefits.

“I believe somebody will tell you that the wetlands not only in tourism but also other aspects such as carbon credit are the biggest,” Dr. Riek Machar said.

“This is where we could even construct the five dams so nobody wants to dredge the wetland since you know tourism brings you money,

“By its own presence, it observes the carbon, it also gets you money to construct the necessary infrastructure but you have to develop it. You have to control your water, you have to manage it.”

With the uniqueness of Sudd wetland in the continent, government spokesperson Michael Makuei also says this does not benefit the country.

“The Sudd wetland is an important heritage, yes, but how do we benefit from this heritage now,” Makuei said.

“Yes, internationally it is very good and we are very proud that we have the highest and the biggest wetland in Africa and so what?  We need to benefit from that wetland,

“It is not enough that the international community tells us that this is a heritage and it is valued at 14 or something billion dollars which we are not getting. So we need to think of how best we can benefit from this sector.”

Experts believe that effective water management can provide various benefits, such as ensuring sustainable water supplies, reducing flood risk, and improving water quality.

Others say water management strategies can provide additional benefits to the environment, economy, and society, including providing wildlife habitat, capturing greenhouse gases, and enhancing community livability.

But researcher Deng Majok Chol says South Sudan can only benefit from its water resources if the government believes the sector is an economic and potential source of transformation.

“If only the government of South Sudan recognized that water is a resource that is the backbone of economic and potential for social-economy transformation,” Deng Majok Chol said.

“You look at Bangkok in Thailand is one the places and there are many countries around the world that have not waked up and said we don’t want this water let us kick it out,

“But they decided to find a solution so that they can live with water and it has to underscore regardless of how much oil we have discovered or not discovered,

“Oil cannot be replaced but water is replaceable if it is managed very well. There are countries that are so rich around the World and they have no oil but they have water.”

In addition, Prof. Tag Elkhazin had this recommendation to the government of South Sudan.

“I would also recommend that the government seeks about $100,000 to do both resource evaluation and update, modernize and complete a water policy document for 10, 15, 20 years let us project the future,” Prof. Elkhazin said.

“I studied the 2007 agreement one of the loopholes there, the Sobat River was not mentioned and Sobat delivers 15 billion cubic meters of water which is about 17%, 18% of the total discharge,

“If we build the dam upstream in the Ethiopian highland, we can generate up to 350,000 megawatts of electricity, and share it equally between Ethiopia and South Sudan.”

In October 2017, a US-based think tank working to advance solutions to the world’s pressing water challenges predicted that the global demand for water was to increase to more than half between 2000 and 2050.

This according to Pacific Institute is characterized by a rapidly growing population and a shifting climate, water stress, and water risk.

The global water think tank adds that humans withdraw about 4,000 cubic kilometers of water globally every year.

This is triple what humans withdrew 50 years ago and thus it said withdrawals continue to increase at a rate of about 1.6 percent per year.

In recent years, many countries have experienced the disappearance of water bodies due to climate change and global warming.

This includes the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan, Lake Poopo in Bolivia, the Colorado River in US and Mexico, and Lake Badwater in California among others.

Researcher Deng Majok Chol however warned that any water development without proper studies may affect the water bodies and rainy patterns in the country.

“Some of these Lakes have disappeared because of global warming and climate change. That is why it is important to take a long-range planning and strategic look at water resources,” said Deng Majok Chol.

“But, that has to base on studies and especially modeling on climatic and hydrological system,

“The implication to the Sudd now it means when it reduces inside and especially this is the environmental concern that it could have dramatic consequences of the rain pattern in the country including the greenbelt, including the Ethiopian highland.”

Prof. Tag Elkhazin however cautioned the South Sudan authorities to consider economic impact, ecological, climate and environmental impact, and peace and conflict impact assessment.

Others include what he referred to as women’s lens, political risks impact, water security impact assessment, collateral damage impact assessment, and livelihood among others.

Prof. Elkhazin says any reduction of Sudd water will have an immediate impact on Western Equatoria State.

“Western Equatoria falls within the greenbelt. The greenbelt is Western Equatoria and Northern Uganda,” Prof. Elkhazin said.

“Why is it like that we never hear of drought in Western Equatoria, we never hear of famine unless people don’t cultivate,

“The reason is that, evaporation from the Sudd goes up the northern winds take the moisture and drop the rain in Western Equatoria,

“You dry the Sudd, you can kill the life plantation in Western Equatoria goodbye. Whatever we do at the end of the day is for the human being. You don’t do a project just to wake up in the morning and look at it.

“Everything is for the welfare of the human being so they have to be at the heart of any feasibility study that we do.”

According to the country’s first Vice President, discussions around water resources development started in 2006 but without involving the public.

Dr. Riek Machar says the government is committed to ensuring that the implementation of any major projects in the country fits the interest of the people of South Sudan.

“We must make our decision in our national interest. This is important. Its time is over so our relations must be based on nation-to-nation relations. Any project we do, we do it putting our national interest into consideration,” Dr. Machar.

Among others, South Sudan is a member of the Nile Basin Initiative or NBI.

The NBI is an intergovernmental partnership of 10 Nile Basin countries, namely Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda while Eritrea participates as an observer.

Currently, the Nile Basin Initiative provides an inclusive platform for the Basin States to discuss with trust and confidence, how to collectively take care of and jointly use the shared Nile Basin water and related resources.

This according to NBI is critical to maximize win-win benefits for current and future generations and minimize risks and costs.

Experts argue that for proper utilization of the South Sudan water system the country needs to study the known 27 African Basin’s agreement, be aware of colonial agreements and build its own library among others.