Rivers and seas in global south suffocate under intense silting

Water is released from the floodgates of the Xiaolangdi dam on the Yellow River to flush millions of tonnes of silt from the river bed. PHOTO | AFP

Changes in land use have caused massive sedimentation of rivers, threatening African waterways, a new study says.

Sediment delivery to rivers and seas in the global hydrologic south – Africa, South America and Oceania – has increased 36 percent since 1980, with suspended sediment concentration growing by 41 percent in the period, according to a survey published in the journal Science last week.