Research project Nida Alsarras, student MEEM 8 (July 2007)

Water Management and Joint Cooperation along the Jordan River Basin

The Jordan River is one of the most popular landmarks in the Middle East. It starts where the Hasbani, River of Lebanon and Banias River from Syria meet. The Jordan flows south till it reaches Lake Tiberias, then a major tributary enters from the east which is the Yarmouk River. The Dead Sea is the outlet of Jordan. The distance between Tiberias Lake and the Dead Sea is about 250 km, and constitutes of the Jordan Valley (Ghawr Jordan). Most of the Ghawr defines the borders between Jordan and Israel on one hand, Jordan and Palestine on the other.

The riparian countries are Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. All of them share the problems of Jordan River that lead to decreasing the river’s water quality and quantity. Pollution of sewage and agricultural chemicals, over exploitation, growing demand and less rainfall year after year, are all threatening the existence of the river. It is the responsibility of the riparian countries to come together and upgrade water management.

Historically, the river has been a source of dispute in the Middle East. Talks and negotiations in the region have not yet reached the final status of the river and Palestine which is a riparian country does not have access to the water and land of the river. Despite this situation, a lot of research projects and cooperation among the countries has been taking place. The aims of these projects are mostly raising awareness, pollution prevention, promoting ecotourism, and developing sustainable social and economic systems. More discussions and cooperation are needed towards rightful allocations, reaching justice and having clear water management systems.

In my project I am trying to find possibilities for joint management cooperation along the river among Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli interests. My aim is to map the situation and define what the shared problems from the stakeholders’ point of view are. I collected information through surveys and interviews about the water related problems in the region, institutional arrangements and willingness for future cooperation. Currently I am in the phase of analyzing the results and it is expected to reach agreement among the participants on a theme for joint management cooperation.

Nida Alsarras, Palestine

MEEM 8, 2006/2007