Surroundings in South Sudan

South Sudan has no single national service for the full range of surroundings. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry handles environmental and climate policy, while the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the South Sudan Urban Water Corporation, known as SSUWC, support water and WASH services. WASH means water, sanitation and hygiene. State, county, city and municipal councils handle local assets, land-use matters and parts of waste and sanitation services. Community structures, NGOs, UN agencies and flood taskforces often provide or coordinate services where public systems do not reach. Water access is a major everyday concern. About 59% of the population lacks safe water and about 10% has improved sanitation according to the available research. Boreholes, water points, treated water trucking, communal taps, purification tablets, latrines and hygiene promotion are common formal or partner-supported solutions. Community-Led Total Sanitation, or CLTS, supports communities in improving sanitation practices. In 2025, reported programmes reached 461,847 people with safe water and 74,503 people with sanitation. Coverage remains uneven in remote, conflict-affected and flood-affected counties. Vendor prices, project rules and community financing vary because no national WASH tariff is established. Supply can be intermittent, and spare parts, operation and maintenance gaps can interrupt services. Unsafe water and sanitation increase the risk of cholera and diarrhoeal disease. Rapid urbanisation, particularly in Juba, has outpaced parts of the available infrastructure. About 98% of roads are unsealed, and flood-prone areas often lack adequate drainage. Drought-affected areas may have limited water storage and irrigation. Access to markets, health services and schools can be interrupted by seasonal flooding or conflict; these are surroundings-related access effects rather than a transport assessment. Air quality and noise also affect daily life, but South Sudan has limited ambient monitoring. Household fuel use, pollution, waste, nuisance and noise can be addressed through public-health rules, environmental assessments and project-level environmental and social management frameworks. Juba Airport creates a recognised noise and urban-development concern, but no nationwide air-quality index, noise-monitoring system or standard local complaint channel has been identified. Wetlands, the Nile and Sudd floodplain, river corridors and communal or open land directly shape local surroundings. Public inventories of urban parks and uniform maintenance or access standards are not established nationwide. Land-use plans, climate plans, local use, community initiatives and NGO projects therefore influence green and water spaces. Formal participation can involve state and local authorities, communities, chiefs, councils, WASH committees, flood taskforces and UNMISS community liaison. The Local Government Act 2009 provides for community involvement in land-use master plans, land allocation and acquisition, while customary norms and local dispute mechanisms remain relevant. Consultation is uneven, and remote or marginalised groups may be left out. Safety concerns include communal or armed violence, flood isolation, explosive ordnance contamination and displacement. The Government of South Sudan has primary responsibility for civilian safety. UNMISS and UNPOL may support protection, patrols, dialogue and community liaison. The National Mine Action Authority and UNMAS conduct explosive-ordnance surveys, clearance and Explosive Ordnance Risk Education, known as EORE. Former Protection of Civilians sites have largely transitioned to government-managed conventional settlements. There is no universal resident-facing safety certificate, and response times depend on the hotspot, access and security conditions. The surroundings are changing through urban growth, movement of internally displaced people, refugees and returnees, repeated floods and droughts, climate warming, insecure land tenure and conflict. Flooding in 2024 affected more than 1.4 million people and displaced about 380,000. The Land Act 2009 provides for surveying, demarcation, registration and titling, but these processes remain widely underimplemented. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the South Sudan Land Commission and state or local councils have overlapping responsibilities. Land-use, utility and permit procedures depend on the relevant state, county or municipality. Emergency assistance may arrive quickly when access is possible, while durable infrastructure and land-use solutions often take longer because of insecurity, seasonal access, inflation and procurement delays. Public-health rules address pollution prevention, potable water, waste storage and disposal, and noise or nuisance. Project proponents and investors generally need environmental assessment, waste management, pollution controls and remediation measures appropriate to their activities. Costs are often publicly funded, subsidised or partner-funded, but local charges and provider fees vary. Individual complaint and appeal routes are not consistently clear nationwide, so the responsible council, ministry, project provider, community committee or humanitarian partner depends on the concrete issue.