Learning from the River Nile about engineering sustainable futures

Abstract

The history of the Nile in Africa offers useful lessons for civil engineers seeking to build a sustainable future, in which climate change is an existential challenge. For thousands of years, communities along the river have sought greater water security at the interface of technical possibility, politics and unpredictable nature. Large projects such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam and Jonglei canal in South Sudan continue to be controversial, but both show how civil engineers might help to address climate change challenges. Once again, Nile communities need civil engineers to find and implement innovative, politically acceptable and sustainable development initiatives.