Transboundary Water Issues in Israel, Palestine, and the Jordan River Basin


Book Description

This book highlights the search for permanent freshwater agreements between Israel, Palestine, and the western portions of Jordan, and underscores the benefits of shared water management among the three countries. Throughout the book, efforts are made to share transboundary water in ways that are simultaneously physically feasible, ecologically sustainable, and socially equitable. Thanks to the Peace Treaty between Israel and Jordan, the management of shared water resources has been working well, though future relationships are uncertain at present. However, the current arrangements for Israel and Palestine are, at best, inadequate and, in some cases, counterproductive. In closing, the book argues that trilateral agreements on water can and should be concluded now, before seeking to resolve the full range of issues that remain uncertain in a Final Status Agreement between Israel and Palestine.




Water Wisdom


Book Description

"This comprehensive, informed, and balanced volume provides invaluable insights into the roots of the water management challenges in the Middle East and charts a course for resolving this pressing issue."--James D. Wolfensohn, former Quartet Special Envoy for Gaza.




The Jordan River and Dead Sea Basin


Book Description

The 21st century will present unprecedented challenges. Already in its first decade we have seen the dramatic impact of two systemic risks, that of climate change and that of the financial crisis. The cause but also the solution to these crises lies in a deeper understanding of the underlying factors and int- dependencies. New ways must be found to overcome deep obstacles and find common solutions to seemingly intractable problems. The water crisis in the Middle East is a central challenge of the 21st century. The future of the people of the region depends on finding lasting solutions. Due to the exhaustion and pollution of available sources, compounded by climate change, demographic change and economic development, the pressures of water resource management will grow. New solutions must urgently be found as business as usual is not sustainable. This book provides vital new insights into possible elements of a sustainable future in one key area, that of the Jordan River and Dead Sea Basin. The future development of the Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli people depends on finding a just and sustainable system of water resource management in this Basin. Given the potential for regional and other conflicts arising out of tensions over water, the ramifications are wider and even global in significance. This volume provides fresh regional and international perspectives which greatly assist in our understanding of the issues and their possible resolution.




Watershed


Book Description

Watershed describes the water crisis faced by Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories today; a crisis that will have much to do with the design and the success of the current peace proposals. The authors examine the geopolitics of water in the region, the economic importance, problems of water supply and water quality, and regional conflicts over water.




Water Resources in the Middle East


Book Description

This book presents various approaches to the resolution of the severe water resource issues of the Middle East, with particular emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian water conflicts. The authors include leading Palestinian and Israeli water experts who have worked together on joint research projects aimed at building up mutual understanding and respect. The studies consider the various approaches that could be used to improve cooperation and solve the problems arising from conflicting interests.




Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia


Book Description

Foreword -- Preface -- Acronyms & units of measurement -- Introduction to the inventory -- Shared water resources in Western Asia -- Key findings -- Overview & methodology: Surface water -- Euphrates River Basin -- Shared tributaries of the Euphrates River -- Tigris River Basin -- Shared tributaries of the Tigris River -- Shatt al Arab, Karkheh and Karun Rivers -- Jordan River Basin -- Orontes River Basin -- Nahr El Kabir Basin -- Qweik River Basin -- Overview & methodology: Groundwater -- Saq-Ram Aquifer System (West) -- Wajid Aquifer System -- Tawila-Mahra/Cretaceous Sands: Wasia-Biyadh-Aruma Aquifer System (South) -- Sakaka-Rutba: Wasia-Biyadh-Aruma Aquifer System (North) -- Rub'al Khali: Umm er Radhuma-Dammam Aquifer System (South) -- Gulf Umm er Radhuma-Dammam Aquifer System (Centre) -- Widyan-Salman: Umm er Radhuma-Dammam Aquifer System (North) -- Wadi Sirhan Basin: Tawil-Quaternary Aquifer System -- Anti-Lebanon -- Western Aquifer Basin -- Coastal Aquifer Basin -- Yarmouk Basin: Basalt Aquifer System (West) -- Azraq-Dhuleil Basin: Basalt Aquifer System (South) -- Taurus-Zagros -- Jezira Tertiary Limestone Aquifer System -- Jezira Basin: Neogene Aquifer System (North-West): Upper and Lower Fars -- Dibdibba Delta Basin Neogene Aquifer System (South-East): Dibdibba-Kuwait Group




Water in a Changing World


Book Description

"The United Nations World Water Development Report", published every three years, is a comprehensive review providing an authoritative picture of the state of the world's freshwater resources. It offers best practices as well as in-depth theoretical analyses to help stimulate ideas and actions for better stewardship in the water sector. It is the only report of its kind, resulting from the collaboration and contributions of the 26 UN agencies, commissions, program, funds, secretariats and conventions that have a significant role in addressing global water concerns.




Sustainable Development in the Jordan Valley


Book Description

This book summarizes the NGO Master Plan that provides a comprehensive program to rehabilitate the Lower Jordan River and its tributaries in Jordan, Israel and Palestine. It is a regional and civil society effort designed to promote the restoration of the valley’s environmental and ecological values within a realistic financial and economic framework. The plan identifies 127 specific regional and national "interventions"(projects) until the year 2050, based on seven strategic planning objectives: pollution control, sustainable water management and river rehabilitation, sustainable agriculture, Jordan River basin governance, ecological rehabilitation, sustainable tourism and cultural heritage development, and urban and infrastructure development. The total investment value is 4.58 billion USD, the plan ranks the interventions and identifies their feasibility in a short, medium and long term investment cycles considering the political environment.




Power and Water in the Middle East


Book Description

Power and Water in the Middle East' provides a powerful new perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli water conflict. Adopting a new approach to understanding water conflict - hydro-hegemony - the author shows the conflict to be much more deeply entrenched than previously thought and reveals how existing tactics to control water are leading away from peace and towards continued domination and a squandering of this vital resource.Existing approaches tend to play down the negative effects of non-violent water conflict, and what is presented as co-operation between countries often hides an underlying state of conflict between them. The new analytical framework of hydro-hegemony exposes the hidden dynamics of water conflict around the world and yields critical insights in to the Middle East water problem. This important work will interest researchers, professionals and policy makers involved with the politics of the Middle East and with water conflict more generally. 'a compelling story of state-building, inter-state competition, and the central role that water plays in state development' - Water Alternatives 'washes away another colourful colonial myth and reveals a history of squandered resources, domestic injustice, and regional belligerence... Zeitoun's meticulous investigation of the conflict over water in the region is a convincing read ... it remains essential reading for anybody working on resource management through government ministries, national agencies, and NGOs in the region.' - Arab Studies Journal




Management of Transboundary Rivers and Lakes


Book Description

Transboundary rivers and lakes are often the remaining new sources of water that can be developed for human uses. These water sources were not used in the past because of the many complexities involved. Written and edited by the world’s leading water and legal experts, this unique and authoritative book analyses the magnitudes of the transboundary water problems in different parts of the world. It also examines difficulties and constraints faced to resolve these problems.