The "Dead Sea" Project: Is a More Sustainable Water Management in the Dead Sea possible?

Description

The Dead Sea basin plays a major role for regional economic development (industry, tourism and agriculture). This potential is threatened by the steady disappearance of the Dead Sea. Since around 1930 the water level of the Dead Sea has fallen by about 25 m, about half of this alone in the last 20 years. These causes for the decline are a direct result of the water management strategies of the riparian and upstream countries. Water from the natural inflows (the Jordan River and side wadis) has been blocked and diverted for urban and agricultural uses inside and outside the watershed. In addition, much water is pumped from the Dead Sea into evaporation ponds, which alone constitutes about 25 % of the present total evaporation rates. The decline undermines the potential as a tourist destination, despite the enormous investment in hotel and resort infrastructures in Israel and in Jordan. The decline also raises ethical issues about the exploitation of water resources by the present genera­tions at the expense of the natural heritage in the future. The "Dead Sea" project aims to synthesize and assess existing physical and socio-economic data and to assess options for a better future. It will identify the patterns of water supply and use in the region, and the factors that control these patterns. The underlying assumption is that solutions for a more sustainable development than today scenario will not come from simply providing "more water for more development", but from a new land and water management system that is sensitive to social, cultural and ecological resources. As a first step, the team has established a system model that combines the physical and social dimensions of water use. Data, information and knowledge between the human dimension (economy, sociology etc) and the physical dimension (hydrology, ecology, agricultural, water planning) are linked under changing scenarios. This identifies the key driving forces that determine water use. Preliminary results make already clear that current water usage is very unequal, and that it is obviously not based on strategic, rational or on socially equitable criteria

Period	14 Jun 2004 → 15 Jun 2004
Event title	MEDAQUA II - The INCO-MED Water Conference
Event type	Other
Degree of Recognition	International