Environmental group Adam Teva V'Din (Israel Union for Environmental Defense)warns that channeling water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea will lead to the destruction of the Dead Sea’s ecosystem. The organization published this warning in anticipation of the agreement due to be signed later today by Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority at the World Bank headquarters in Washington.
The historic agreement is meant to facilitate the construction of a pipeline in Jordan, which will carry water 180 kilometers from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. Under the terms of the agreement, a desalination plant will be built alongside the pipeline, and the desalinated water will shared by Jordan and Israel. According to the agreement, 200 million cubic meters will be drawn from the Red Sea each year. Roughly 80 million cubic meters each year will be treated in the desalination plant near Aqaba, and Israel will receive most of the water - for Eilat and settlements in the Arava region. In exchange, Israel will supply 50 million cubic meters of water to Jordan from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). However, Adam Teva V'Din is cooling the enthusiasm surrounding the agreement, and warns that the ambitious initiative will be a disaster for generations to come. Adam Teva V'Din Water Management Head Sarit Caspi-Oron said today: “The mineral composition of the Dead Sea is unique and unlike any other place in the world, it is what makes it what it is and allows industry to profit so extensively from it. Piping water from the Red Sea to it will lead to the destruction of its ecosystem.” According to Caspi-Oron, under the first phase of the plan, half of the water that is drawn from the Red Sea will be channeled to the northern basin of the Dead Sea. “This process will turn the Dead Sea into an artificial body of water that is fed by the Red Sea, will shut down the industry that is built around it, and will destroy its uniqueness,” she said.
In addition, she said that there was no substance to the claim that the project would save the Dead Sea from drying out, that the implementation of the first phase of the project would not raise the water level in the northern basin, and that, in any event, environmental surveys conducted in the past suggested that channeling massive amounts of water was liable to cover the Dead Sea with a layer of gypsum, or to trigger the growth of algae, which would color the water red. “Saving the Dead Sea means protecting it, and not by artificial means. We objected to this plan at every related hearing at the World Bank, which is leading this initiative. We intend to assess our next steps on the matter, including collaboration with environmental organizations around the world to initiate a broad public campaign, as the entire project is being carried out in Jordanian territory.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 9, 2013
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