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South Sudan has vast natural riches to sustain its people: World Bank finds

Author: Chany Ninrew | Published: January 27, 2025

A fisherman checking his nets. (Photo: Charles Wote/Eye Radio).

South Sudan has abundant natural resources potential – including one of the most productive fresh water fisheries in the world – that can sustainably be exploited to promote inclusive economic development for its people, the World Bank said in a new report.

The South Sudan Natural Resource Review (NRR) report released on 27th January is the first to jointly assess three key renewable resources sectors: fisheries, forestry, and wildlife in South Sudan since independence.

It provides a comprehensive summary of the status, potentials, challenges, and investment needs in each of the sectors.

The report highlights that South Sudan has vast natural habitats with very few populations that could benefit from the wealth of natural resources.

While approximately 75 percent of South Sudanese already directly depend on local ecosystems for their basic needs, the assessment said these sectors have a far greater potential to contribute towards national development.

The report noted that fishing is key to the livelihoods of many and makes a huge contribution to overall nutrition and generates significant local government income.

“Roughly 2.1 million people are estimated to be members of households where at least one person is fishing, with around a quarter of a million active fishers, some 10 percent of whom are full time,” it stated.

The report outlined that the states with the most productive fisheries are Upper Nile, Jonglei, and Unity and the proportion of the population engaged in fishing reaches around 30 percent.

According to the study, the current fish catch in South Sudan is estimated at 300,000 tons per year and is likely significantly lower than average sustainable production.

It added that much of its potential value of around $300 million at local market prices is lost due to poor handling, postharvest physical and quality loss, and the inability to transport to regional markets dominated by foreign exporters, particularly to the DRC, where prices roughly double those in South Sudanese markets.

“South Sudan has one of the most productive freshwater fisheries in the world, driven by the highly variable annual flood dynamics of the vast Sudd and surrounding White Nile floodplain,” said Stephen Ling, Lead Environment Specialist, World Bank.

“To the southeast of the Sudd, those floodplains support the world’s largest wildlife migration, estimated at over 5 million antelope. But alongside abundance, there have also been rapid declines.”

“Large wildlife has declined around 90 percent across the country, following the proliferation of automatic weapons since the 1980s and high prices of ivory and rhino horn, and the largest teak plantations in Africa have almost vanished. And even though the floodplain fisheries are relatively robust to exploitation, much of the potential value is lost,” added Ling.

In the forestry sector, the report highlights that South Sudan has extensive forest cover of around 30 percent of the national land area, and they have exceptionally high ecosystem integrity and may still contain commercially valuable native species which neighboring countries have largely lost.

In the wildlife sector, the report underlines that South Sudan retains vast and varied natural habitats with the potential to support world-class, nature-based tourism attractions but the two most globally important wildlife landscapes – the vast Sudd wetland and the world’s largest wildlife migration in the Boma-Bandingilo-Jonglei landscape are only partly protected, and wildlife management is very limited throughout the country.

“South Sudan’s remarkable natural assets have the potential to deliver major development benefits for its people. Managing these resources must be done wisely to maximize the benefits and ensure sustainability of these assets into the future,” said Charles Undeland, World Bank Group Country Manager for South Sudan.

“Community-based natural resources management and development of sustainable value chains offer important pathways to diversify away from dependence on oil while directly benefiting rural communities and supporting inclusive development in South Sudan.”

While much of the natural wealth – including 10-20 million cattle – has not been fully exploited, international partners have cited rampant public sector corruption in South Sudan over the years.

The Transparency International’s 2023 corruption index – which classes 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption ranked South Sudan the second most corrupt country in the world along with Syria and Venezuela as Somalia topped the list.

The country has remained in that position for the last two years, after beating Somalia as the most corrupt in 2021.

The Chief Justice of South Sudan Judiciary Chan Reech Madut acknowledged in December 2024 that no institution in the country is free from corruption as the country marked International Anti-Corruption Day.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission said his agency’s fight against corruption is being frustrated by a lack of funding and the continued protection of corrupt officials from prosecution.

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