the tension is increasing in the middle of the country where the great reserves of oil lay buried under the parched dry land.  with the looming referendum, scheduled for January 9, the fate of this resource rich area (Abyei) remains up in the air.  The January 9 referendum will decide the fate of the country and whether it will be one country or two; you get to vote for Unity or Separation. Additionally, the Abyei region will have a second vote to decide if they want to be part of the North or South. As a very critical moment in history, the South stands at the brink of become a new African nation. As a whole, the country is standing on the brink of returning to conflict. Of which there are several motivations, National interests of the North and National identity of the South to name a couple.

What will the landscape and environment look like after the votes are counted and the results announced is anyone's guess.