Radio Miraya
2762: Cleaning the Nile River and preserving aquatic resources
EAGAD with support from CEDA has been implementing a project enhancing blue economy in EAGAD member states for biodiversity conservation and livelihood diversions. And the project is aimed at unlocking the blue economy potentially in the EAGAD region. One of the interventions proposed by this project is to improve the health of marine and aquatic ecosystems in the EAGAD region. Now Nauriva Banks' Cleaning Campaign Against Plastic Pollution in the White Night River in Juba City is an initiative that comes within the project. To discuss and to know more about the project, we are joined in a studio with David Kwaje from EAGAD and by phone with Dr. Jaxon Mohus of Director General in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries of South Sudan. Gentlemen, good morning to you. Welcome to Radio Miraya. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you. Good morning. Pleasure joining you. Thank you so much, Mr. Jaxon, for joining us. Now to carry on a conversation about the issue following up now. What are the main objectives of this project? Let us start with the guest here in the studio then we will move on. What are the main objectives of this project? Thank you, Parwan and your colleague. Good morning once again, Radio listeners. As you had mentioned earlier, the key objective is to unlock the potential of the blue economy by ensuring that the health and the status of the aquatic resources that we have is well protected and specifically with regards to tomorrow's program, it is to create awareness and to ensure that there is a community mobilization and sensitization when it comes to the issues of plastic pollution within our aquatic resources. Yes. And breaking that one more for our listeners, you say blue economy and what you have just mentioned for a simple listen out there, what does it mean in a simple way for them to understand more? Thank you. I know the DJ will come after this. Yeah. He will come in here. To be very basic, it is basically the resources that we have on our waters. Okay. And there is a lot of expansion in population and demand. That means that the terrestrial resources become limited to our needs, hence they need to focus on also the aquatic, that is where we get our fish and that's where we even have other economic activities on our rivers. So the basic is that to ensure that we fully utilize the resources, the Nile in South Sudan covers over seven out of the ten states, that makes it a very huge resource. Oh, that's great. Now, let's give a chance to Jackson Mouse also to come in. Jackson, you're welcome. Thank you very much, Paul, and for just thanks to our listeners of May Daya. I said that opportunity is supporting South Sudan. And it is a good opportunity also for us to understand that it is not only dealing with the issues to do with the peace and security in the member state, but it has also our projects development projects that is to alleviate people from poverty, improve socioeconomic development of its member state populations. I know the initiative is this blue economy, blue economy, historically, of course, been all designed for oceans and seas. Allow me to request, can you put a radio beside you a little bit faster so that we can hear you clear because we are receiving the echo coming back from the radio that is beside you, I believe. Oh, okay. Thank you very much, Jackson. You're welcome. Thank you. Yeah, so when member states support that, of course, we support from the African Union Commission, defined that blue economy isn't only tied to oceans and seas, it comes to the continent of Africa. We have inland countries, and we have long or large rivers, lakes, wetlands, which are also constituting a good percentage of the aquatic ecosystems. The constables then are corrupted that are then the blue economy activity to be extended to inland countries, where in the region, countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda, are now tested from this initiative. We was supported by EGAP to do baseline survey and report to identify whether we really have blue economy potentials or resources in the country. That we did that after knowing it was appreciating, then we were supported to develop our national blue economy strategy, which we launched on the 8th of March last year in Jubatiramat Hotel. Of course, it's a cross-cutting initiative that takes on what ministries like the support of our resources, the Ministry of Transport, if it comes to river transport, that's an obligation, the Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation, and Tourism, then we have trade. You have the extractive industries to mention a few. So all these member line ministries were developed in the development of the national blue economy strategy. Now, come that we have a challenge of evaluation, how do we value our blue economy resources, so that we could know how much do this blue economy resources contribute to the GDP of the country. So that remains a limitation in terms of resources, that we could not get resources to be able to evaluate our blue economy resources. Then EGAP, of course, went on, but it has some small funds now, putting on both one of the activity that a member said, like the beauty of roll out from its strategic plan, that was the campaign against plastic pollution, which is affecting their quantity of oxygen. So then we also push our voice forward, okay, we are also one of the best, which is really suffering from this piece of plastic pollution, and you give us that helping us help us to create awareness, and then we may develop some skills and knowledge on how to go about the management of this plastic pollution. Indeed, they are affecting our aquatic ecosystem, not only the aquatic, but even terrestrial. From the millions of livestock and fisheries, we have the terrestrial, the animals, and then we have the aquatic, the fisheries, so both are negatively affected by this plastic pollution. When invested, the consequences could be beyond, that we could not justify whether they directly affect our health when we consume these muscles, or meat, or not it, but also the program of tomorrow, we hand back them on. Okay, all right, okay, thank you. Let's come back to our guest here in the studio to Mr. David Kwaje. One of the interventions on this project is to improve the health of the marine and aquatic ecosystem in the EAG region, as we said earlier. So can you tell us more about this component? Okay, thank you, Owen, and I would like to acknowledge and appreciate the presence of our Director General for Fisheries. As I mentioned earlier, the health of the aquatic resources is key, because at the end of the day, they will be consumed by us in Juba and also beyond South Sudan. So that was the focus to ensure that we develop some basic skills and knowledge and have the general awareness so that we know that whatever plastic we mishandled will eventually affect our aquatic resources, and it even affects the drainage, and so the idea is to have this symbolic event tomorrow to create awareness and to inject some energy to the community so that this continues even beyond this one of activity tomorrow. Will the public be engaged in the event or how is it going to look like? Yes, thank you for that important question. We are working together with the Juba City Council. They were supposed to have joined us this morning, but they will be with us tomorrow in the evening show, and the idea is that the issues to do with the plastic pollution and waste management in general is being implemented by the city authorities. Our work is to mainly support them and to guide them through the policies that have been developed at the regional level, and they will be with us tomorrow. We will also have some community representatives. It will be in Gabat Port and we will have some community, women groups, youth groups, and key, as I mentioned, is the Juba City Council represented there, and we hope that after this it will be a quarterly activity, not only on the Gabat Port but also on Juba Port and all the other ports, and it is a wish that as EGAD we really enhance our potential when it comes to the mandate of EGAD in South Sudan. As far towards tomorrow's programme, any specific actions have been taken to address the plastic pollution in the region. Not only South Sudan but talking about the region, such as the Nine River Banks and the Cleaning Campaign against the plastic pollution. What's so far been done about that? At a regional level, as I mentioned, by the Director General, this awareness campaign has been going on not only in South Sudan as you hear, it is also happening in Djibouti. We did it in two ports in Tejora and Obok in Djibouti, then also there is also a plan to launch a similar one in Ethiopia and in Uganda, countries which also have massive water resources, which are at risk of plastic pollution, as you know, that is the biggest risk when it comes to pollution of the water resources we have. OK, now let's cross to Director General Mr Jaxson talking about South Sudan context and looking at the, if we look at the river Nile, the banks of the river, which is actually filled with this plastics and all this stuff. So what is your take on that or what is being so far put into consideration? Thank you very much, Juan, and our viewers once again, of course, we understand that all people from the Cyans' background, our knowledge backgrounds, we are aware of the impact of this plastic on aquatic ecosystems. The plastics could be plastic that's floating, or they could settle at the bottom of the grocery sales and sedimentations. What they will be storing there is what we are worried about, that this will be consumed by the aquatic animals, and by the end of the day, we will be consuming more weed and our consuming aquatic animals. Somehow, these plastics also, in the long time, when you talk on the filtration and sedimentation, some of the filtration process may cause an impact on the smooth channeling of our river systems. They may reduce the depth of the river system, consequently, they may cause deviation even in the flow of the water bodies. So that is a serious concern that we are asked that the natural habitat should remain in touch for sustainability of life in this part of the water that we are in. And also, Mr. Johnson, how does this project benefit the local communities, and what kind of impact do you expect it to have on their livelihoods? Yes, specifically, our communities are a developing community, our economy is a developing economy. So the basic, simple blue economy resource that we could touch on now is the fish. Our people, about 1.7 million people in South Sudan depend directly on the fish at its resources. At plastics, they become more, they go to the peripheral end of the river or the water systems. And those peripheral ends are where those are the critical habitats where fish use them for their spawning, their reproduction process. So if that cycle of normal cycle of reproduction of the fish species is affected, then definitely the population reduces, isn't it? Then that is definitely affecting the economy and the livelihoods of the future communities. So that is a serious concern that we need to put it on board for communities to understand. That yes, we enjoy the weather, we enjoy the watermelon, our city boys and girls, but these plastics have the detrimental effect on that or impact in the long term. Okay. So what do we do with this? It remains a question that I and you now cannot answer a lot, but we want to raise it up to the scientific community in South Sudan, giving us community in South Sudan. They should understand as we go after one in development of our lives in fossilization, we should know that these plastics, this bottle, we are refreshing our cell of sweet tomorrow has an impact on our lives and our lifestyles. Okay. The same question I'm giving to you, Mr. David, as EGAD, how do you, how does this project will benefit people of South Sudan? Thank you. As I mentioned, this is under the social development component of EGAD's pillars of activities when it comes to its mandate and its key priority areas in the region. And the fact that you have over 1.7 million people who live along the island, who depend on it as a key resource for their livelihoods and for their economic activities, this is very important and this means that without by neglecting this sector, you are also neglecting what you want to eat in the evening. So it also comes to the health component and that's why we are having not only the ministry of livestock beneficiaries, but we also have live ministries such as water, irrigation also we are going to have the private sector, ministry of health, so that we have a broad perspective on the common analysis, so that we have a common understanding at the end of the day and that our actions are targeted to uplift the aquatic resources. Great. And maybe finally, and this one is going to Jackson from the ministry. How does the ministry collaborate with EGAD and other stakeholders to implement this project or other projects even there? Yeah, originally, of course, we are members of EGAD and we call our N3 point to EGAD the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation, which we will start up with this project and EGAD has a number of activities, it has also an activity on climate, so that has to do with the also those ministries which are concerned with the climate, I don't need to go to that. And for us, this activity deals directly with the Ministry of livestock and fish, and as I said, it is a cross-cutting, not decent, but we could even understand as they either present it with their habitats indicated we are inviting also the Minister of health. Number one, as we speak here, if God forbid you false it during the figure, you'll be injected and that's into the use of the plastic, isn't it? So every packaging of even the pharmaceuticals, our plastics, that's why we said we need to raise our way and what do we do, the can we and do this? So that it is broad and not only the means of life, so contrary, because we have to be campaign and we don't create our way and as on the produce and the users of this plastic, then our efforts are banned not to bear fruits, but we are not saying that we have an alternative that is to stop plastic, plastic, plastic, but one that's people to be aware. All right, we are coming to the end of this conversation, but what is your last say, Mr. David from EGOT, what's your last say before we conclude our talk? Thank you and I appreciate the time you've given us and the last say is to have more awareness and to ensure that media such as your platform as well as others take this up and that they ensure that the message is spread because it has a direct effect on all of us and also the future of our ecosystem. Thank you so much, David and Jackson from Ministry, Director General of the Ministry of Life, Stock and Fisheries, what's your last say? Thank you very much, my last say is to our communities. So we are using gibber city council as a symbol here and there are other cities globally in our country wide in South Sudan. So we want to take the media or those city authorities say, "Wow, Malakar, for example, they should follow the media and also try to learn from what gibber city council is doing, what we are doing here together and how could they catch up and take it up there or can they get in their particular area so that we will try to address this political solution taking on both our communities." Thank you very much. Thank you, gentlemen, for coming, David, thanks for coming and thank you, Jackson, also for being online. We'd appreciate and we wish you a lovely day. Happy Eid al-Adha to all of you, enjoy your day. Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you, Shukran. Thank you, Shukran, Shukran, New Zealand. And of course, that has been Mr. David, Khwadja from IGAD and also, we have Jackson Mosse from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, the Director General, they have been talking to us about the program that will take place tomorrow.