Sustainability of the Nile since the construction of the Aswan Dam | HeritageDaily

For thousands of years, the people of North Eastern Africa have relied on the Nile River as their primary source of life sustaining water.

One of the longest rivers in the world, the Nile flows for over 4100 miles from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea. Annual floods in a season the Ancient Egyptians called “akhet” – the inundation, provided ancient cultures and civilisations along the river with rich silt to enhance the soil needed for food production.

In the 1950s, a dam was proposed to control the flooding and provide hydroelectric power to Egypt, with construction beginning…