Lake Nasser

• Category: Inland Aquatic Biomes.
• Geographic Location: Africa.
• Summary: Lake Nasser and the Aswan High Dam have greatly benefited Egyptians, enhancing specific aquatic ecosystems and increasing the presence of migratory birds and mammals. However, these projects have also upset traditional ecological patterns and caused new environmental problems.

One of the largest human-made lakes in the world, Lake Nasser was created on the Nile River as the brainchild of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Eighty-three percent of the lake is located in Egypt, in the southeastern portion of the country, with the remaining area in northern Sudan. The lake came into being in 1960 in conjunction with the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Egypt has used the lake and dam to generate hydroelectric power, provide fishing and irrigation for local residents, and prevent areas below Aswan from flooding uncontrollably, as they had done in the past. (The Sudanese reject the name Lake Nasser, preferring to call it Lake Nubia for the people who populate the area.)

The lake extends for some 1,550 square miles (4,014 square kilometers) and is 600 feet (183 meters) deep in some areas. Throughout history, Egypt has continued to view the Nile River as its key to survival. Ninety-five percent of Egypt’s population still resides around the Nile, an area that comprises only 5 percent of the country’s total land area. Outside experts have been highly critical of Egypt’s stewardship of the river, considering the nation’s handling as a misuse of the Nile’s resources; they point out that Egypt continues to depend on imported food products for survival.

The lands around the Nile have historically been highly fertile, but damming the waters has trapped silt rather than deposited it downstream. Farmers have begun using human-made fertilizers that pollute the surrounding waters. These fertilizers have helped the bilharzia parasite, spread by snails attracted to standing waters, infect nearby people.

Flooding has always been a significant problem in the Nile basin. Intentional flooding during the building of the dam forced tens of thousands of Nubians who lived along the banks of the lake to relocate to higher ground. The flooding also destroyed numerous ecosystems and ancient sites of major historical significance. Historically, the shores of the lake had been dotted with Nubian temples, ruins, and monuments. Because of flooding, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) stepped in to help in the 1960s, assisting Egyptian officials relocate historical artifacts to safer, inland sites.

The Nile River has been a major source of ongoing tension between Egypt and Sudan, and tensions mounted during negotiations for the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The two countries reached an agreement in 1959, allotting the Sudan 653 billion cubic feet (18.5 billion cubic meters) of water from the Nile rather than the 141 billion cubic feet (4 billion cubic meters) that had been in effect from 1929 to that date. Additionally, more than 2,510 square miles (6,500 square kilometers) of northern Sudan were flooded, including some of the most fertile land in the world. The Sudanese government agreed to engage in Nile development projects of its own and, in the 1990s, built a new dam on the Nile called the Merowe Dam.

Climate

The climate around Lake Nasser is typical of extreme desert biomes: Residents may go for several years without ever seeing rain. In 1997, at a total cost of approximately $17 billion, then-president Hosni Mubarak of Egypt decided to use some of the water from Nasser Lake to create a “Nile clone” in the western desert. Mubarak accomplished this goal by transferring 3.6 billion gallons (13 billion liters) of water a day from the lake into the New Valley Canal to help irrigate a fertile valley among a string of ancient oases. The ambitious plan, which was expected to stretch for 192 miles (309 kilometers) when completed, involved creating 1 million acres (404,686 hectares) of new agricultural lands home to evolving animal and plant habitats.

In 2005, the National Project for the Development of Upper Egypt, more commonly called the Toshka Project, was in place on the northern section of Lake Nasser. It was considered a major engineering feat, pumping water from Lake Nasser into the Sheik Zayed Canal, named after the president of the United Arab Emirates, who donated $100 million to the project. The end stage of the project, which was set to provide 100,000 acres (40,469 hectares) of irrigated farmland and to be home to 3 million people, was set to be completed in the 2020s. However, the project was abandoned because of obstacles that could not be overcome. It was revived in 2014 to help achieve self-sufficiency and overcome the food gap by increasing the agricultural area. The Toshka Project became a priority in 2021 after Russia invaded Ukraine. Egypt had depended on Russia and Ukraine for about 80 percent of its wheat imports. The project is hoped to help Egypt achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production.

Erosion is a major problem along the shores of Lake Nasser, and fossils of ancient plants and animals are often clearly visible. Climate change is projected to have positive and negative effects on the lake. Greater swings in rainfall amounts and wider temperature fluctuations could mean increased evaporation, shore erosion, and strained water sources if rain eases too much. However, increases in rain could result in flooding in nearby regions and a higher water level in Lake Nasser. The 2020 floods in Sudan resulted in the highest recorded water level for Lake Nasser.

Since the Nile River feeds Lake Nasser, a changing water table could affect everything from fish communities and local plant life to recreational activities. In addition, the farmland surrounding the lake could increase the incidence of pollution from pesticides, and the additional population could strain the resources of the lake community.

Biodiversity

The shores of Lake Nasser are composed of 85 significant khors, or desert wadis—narrow, meandering shallows that provide an ideal environment for aquatic flora and vegetation and serve as a breeding ground for fish. There are 48 khors on the eastern side of the lake and 37 on the west, the three largest being Allaqi, Kalabsha, and Tushka. These khors offer the richest habitats found in the Lake Nasser biome.

Fish have been introduced into the lake, and many species have thrived in the freshwater environment, including tilapia, Nile perch (Lates niloticus) or sangara, mputa or capitaine, tiger fish, and large vundu catfish.

Lake Nasser is considered one of the best spots in the world for freshwater fishing. Although commercial fishing is banned, the fish from the lake account for 25–40 percent of all inland fishing production in the country, and local peasants who live in temporary camps depend on those fish for their survival.

Drawn by the abundance of available food, birds flock to the western bank of Lake Nasser, and approximately 100 species have been recorded, including the tufted duck (Aythya fuligula). In the first two months of 1995, more than 200,000 birds were counted on the lake, now considered one of the most important wetlands in Egypt. Migrant and overwintering birds use the shores of the lake as a staging ground, and Lake Nasser is the only known breeding ground for the Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus).

In addition to the tufted duck, among the most abundant species are black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis), great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), common pochard (Aythya ferina), northern shoveller (Anas clypeata), Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope), and black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus).

Characteristic breeding birds include Egyptian goose, black kite (Milvus migrans), Senegal thick-knee (Burhinus senegalensis), Kittlitz’s plover (Charadrius pecuarius), spur-winged lapwing or spur-winged plover (Vanellus spinosus), crested lark (Galerida cristata), and the graceful prinia warbler (Prinia gracilis).

This is the only area where the African skimmer (Rynchops flavirostris) and African pied wagtail (Motacilla aguimp) are known to breed in Egypt. During the summer months, there is a significant influx of yellow-billed stork (Mycteria ibis) and pink-backed pelican (Pelecanus rufescens) into Lake Nasser.

Many animals and reptiles are drawn to Lake Nasser, including the Nile crocodile, soft-shell turtle, monitor lizard, Dorcas gazelle, jackal, sand cat, and desert fox. Bedouins often bring camels and sheep to graze on the sparse vegetation growing along the shore, primarily dominated by salt cedar (Tamarix) growing in thin bands. Dominant aquatic vegetation in the shallow margins of the lake includes water-lilies (Najas). Also along the lake’s banks are palm trees, including the type common throughout the Nile and Egypt, the date palm.

Bibliography

Belal, Ahmed, et al. Bedouins by the Lake: Environment, Change, and Sustainability in Southern Egypt. Cairo and New York: American University in Cairo Press, 2009.

Cooperman, Alan. “Egypt Clones a Nile.” U.S. News and World Report 122, no. 19 (1997).

Crisman, Thomas L., et al. Conservation, Ecology, and Management of African Fresh Waters. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2003.

Mange, Maria A. and David T. Wright, eds. Heavy Metals in Use. London: Elsevier, 2007.

"Toshka Agricultural Project Revived Amid Egypt's Hope to Achieve Self-Sufficiency in Wheat." Egypt Today, 21 Apr. 2022, www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/115145/Toshka-agricultural-project-revived-amid-Egypt%E2%80%99s-hope-to-achieve-self. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

Wohl, Ellen E. A World of Rivers: Environmental Change on Ten of the World’s Greatest Rivers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.