# data[].attributes.body
The Nile River is the longest-flowing river in Africa and one of the longest rivers in the world. Approximately 95% of Egypt's population live within only a few miles of this river making it an invaluable resource to the people of Egypt. It provides silty nutrient-rich soils and waters that have helped uphold the agricultural industry. It provides the people with a water source for cleaning and drinking along with fish as a food source. Lastly, it helps in exporting and importing goods down the river to the other countries making it an important means of transportation.

National Geographic Society. (2023, October 19). Nile River. Education. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/nile-river/

# data[].attributes.body
The river moves approximately 300 million cubic meters of water a day, that is approximately 80 billion gallons of water. Within the parameters of Egypt, 104 million people live on the river and its delta. This is due to the richness of nutrients provided by the silts it moves. Although civilization has always depended on this river, the last 100 or so years have also caused significant turmoil due to competing motivations of this resource and mishandling of said issues.

Pedersen, T. (2016, November 29). The Nile: Longest River in the world. LiveScience. https://www.livescience.com/57023-nile-river-facts.html#:~:text=The%20Nile%20waters%20flow%20at,a%20Dutch%20bilingual%20travel%20magazine.

# data[].attributes.body
The Nile River and its delta provides water and nutrients for approximately 3 million hectares of agricultural land. This compared to Egypt's total 3.3 million hectares dedicated to agriculture goes to show the importance of this river for the production of food. The silts in the river make extremely fertile soils and being on the river makes irrigation easy for the farmers, especially if they can dig out streams to have a constant flow of fresher water.

Egypt. The Food and Agriculture Organization. (n.d.). https://www.fao.org/3/Y4632E/y4632e0c.htm

# data[].attributes.body
The Nile also benefits the cities by being a source of clean water, waste treatment, transportation, and a way to create electricity. The river has always been vital for these uses even since ancient Egypt, So why has the usage become a problem now? Will regulations help fix it?

# data[].attributes.body
One reason we are seeing issues with the river now is due to pollution not only at the municipal level but also at the industrial level. Industrial dumping has been a large issue to tackle, but an important one to recognize because it has led to high levels of heavy metals in the river which has begun to destroy the ecosystem, kill fish (which is an important food source), and now create patterns of disability in younger generations. With these heavy metal pollutants, they sink to the river bed and stay instead of breaking down leading to decades of issues.

Another major source of pollution is fertilizer and poor wastewater management. Unfortunately, there is not the infrastructure to properly clean and cycle through waste water so it typically gets dumped into the river. The loss of nutrients in the water and the delta has also led to farmers relying on fertilizers that get cycled and dumped into the river causing more pollution.

Farid, F. (2020, March 20). The mighty Nile, threatened by waste, warming, mega-dam. Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-mighty-nile-threatened-mega-dam.html#google_vignette

# data[].attributes.body
The Grand Renaissance Dam has brought hope to Ethiopia in their quest to further build and stabilize their power grid. One way this was done was by building a hydropower dam across the Nile. This has brought large concerns for Egypt because it stops the movement of the nutrient-dense silt that's vital to the country which has led to the erosion of the delta. Additionally, there are concerns that the dam will exacerbate the issues surrounding the heavy metals. So while it brought hope to one country it brought fear to another.

Africa’s largest dam fills Ethiopia with hope and Egypt with dread ... The Washington Post . (2023, October 15). https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2020/grand-ethiopian-renaissance-dam-egypt-nile/

# data[].attributes.body
Riverbank filtration is one way Egypt's government is working to help restore the river's health. Riverbank filtration is done by pumping the water through borewells that are full of natural filtration medium. This is to capture harmful heavy metals and microorganisms that come from both municipal and industrial waste which is then carefully disposed of. This helps tackle numerous points of pollution in one shot compared to having many processes that governments would have to invest in thus making it slightly more cost-effective compared to other means. It's also easy to implement on both large and small scales making it beneficial to the river as a whole but also good in irrigation systems.

Hegazy, M. H., Essam, A., Elnaggar, A. Y., & E. Hussein, E. (2021, December 17). Heavy metal removal from the water of the River Nile using riverbank filtration. MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/24/3642#:~:text=The%20utilization%20of%20riverbank%20filtration,of%20contaminations%20and%20heavy%20metals.  https://www.teriin.org/index.php/opinion/what-riverbank-filtration

# data[].attributes.body
Another way we could better the Nile River is by removing the Dam and implementing solar panels. Many countries in Africa are lucky to receive consistent sunlight year-round making it an ideal area for solar energy. We know from around the world that although hydroelectricity is cleaner than coal it alters river systems significantly from the native aquatic life to the concerns of causing more issues with heavy metals. They are expensive and time-consuming to build and remove compared to solar panels. Although there are still some issues with solar energy it seemingly across the board has fewer issues than hydroelectricity which would make it an optimal choice for helping strengthen Ethiopia's power grid and help restore the river's health for Egypt.

United Nations. (2006, October). Solar Power: Cheap Energy Source for Africa | Africa Renewal. United Nations. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/october-2006/solar-power-cheap-energy-source-africa#:~:text=African%20countries%2C%20blessed%20with%20sunlight,plentiful%20sunshine%20to%20generate%20electricity.

# data[].attributes.body
Along with large-scale projects that we have seen to help clean up and maintain the health of the river there are also everyday people taking the health of the river into their own hands. VeryNile is an initiative that was created to help band together everyday people to aid in clean-up and education efforts to support the Nile River ecosystem. Their mission is a "combination of raising awareness in communities to lower plastic consumption, using social media to mobilize thousands of volunteers to manually clean the banks of the Nile, raising money from corporations to build cleaning boats, as well as finding innovative ways to recycle trash and reuse plastic".

Their organization serves as a reminder that even you as an individual can inspire meaningful change.

United Nations. (n.d.). Cleaning the river Nile | stories from the field - united nations sustainable development. United Nations. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/cleaning-the-river-nile-stories-from-the-field/

# data[].attributes.body
Although some fantastic initiatives are happening the problems run much deeper than simply needing to pick up trash. As a system, there are many parts to the whole picture that influence each other in unique ways. We have to not only try to solve the issues at hand but attempt to predict how our actions influence other parts.

When you draw the system out it is no longer an easy "pick up trash" solution, it becomes many smaller solutions to help influence greater change in the long run.

# data[].attributes.body
Africa’s largest dam fills Ethiopia with hope and Egypt with dread ... The Washington Post . (2023, October 15). https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2020/grand-ethiopian-renaissance-dam-egypt-nile/

Egypt. The Food and Agriculture Organization. (n.d.). https://www.fao.org/3/Y4632E/y4632e0c.htm

Farid, F. (2020, March 20). The mighty Nile, threatened by waste, warming, mega-dam. Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-mighty-nile-threatened-mega-dam.html#google_vignette

Hegazy, M. H., Essam, A., Elnaggar, A. Y., & E. Hussein, E. (2021, December 17). Heavy metal removal from the water of the River Nile using riverbank filtration. MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/24/3642#:~:text=The%20utilization%20of%20riverbank%20filtration,of%20contaminations%20and%20heavy%20metals.  https://www.teriin.org/index.php/opinion/what-riverbank-filtration

National Geographic Society. (2023, October 19). Nile River. Education. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/nile-river/

Pedersen, T. (2016, November 29). The Nile: Longest River in the world. LiveScience. https://www.livescience.com/57023-nile-river-facts.html#:~:text=The%20Nile%20waters%20flow%20at,a%20Dutch%20bilingual%20travel%20magazine.

United Nations. (2006, October). Solar Power: Cheap Energy Source for Africa | Africa Renewal. United Nations. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/october-2006/solar-power-cheap-energy-source-africa#:~:text=African%20countries%2C%20blessed%20with%20sunlight,plentiful%20sunshine%20to%20generate%20electricity.

United Nations. (n.d.). Cleaning the river Nile | stories from the field - united nations sustainable development. United Nations. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/cleaning-the-river-nile-stories-from-the-field/