Water Links in the Mideast

Dead Sea
Bordering populations: The Dead Sea is bordered by Israeli, Jordanian and West Bank Palestinian populations.
Consumption of resources: The water level in the Dead Sea drops by more than a meter each year primarily due to the siphoning off of its main resource, the Jordan River, by Israel, Jordan and Syria.
Cooperation over resources: A study, proposed by the World Bank, is scheduled to begin in December to determine the feasibility of creating a canal to transport water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The project was identified during a pre-feasibility study in the late 1990s, though the idea dates back to the 1950s. However, there are risks associated with the project, including the high costs for construction, possible changes to the Dead Sea’s chemical composition and potential damage to the surrounding environment due to canal leaks.

Jordan River Basin
Bordering populations: The Jordan River Basin originates on the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The Jordan River passes through Israel and makes up most of Jordan’s border with Israel and the West Bank. The Yarmuk River, a major part of the basin, feeds into the Jordan River just below Lake Tiberias and borders Israel and Jordan.
Consumption of resources: Israel consumes marginally more of Jordan River waters than does Jordan; consumption in the Palestinian territories is estimated at one-tenth the Jordanian amount.
Cooperation over resources: The Jordan River Basin has been a point of conflict in the past. In the 1950s and 1960s Jordan, Syria and Israel made unilateral attempts to divert water away from the basin, resulting in a series of armed clashes. These conflicts were put on hold after Israel took the Golan Heights in 1967, giving it control over the headwaters of the Jordan River, which stopped Syrian diversion projects, and led to a 1970 agreement between Israel and Jordan. The annex to the 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace details joint efforts to manage and share the flow of the Jordan and Yarmuk Rivers. In May 1997, the two countries reached an agreement where Israel would pump 26.2 million cubic meters per year from Lake Tiberias to Jordan–this figure is a little over half what was originally envisioned in the peace treaty and is about three percent of Jordan’s yearly water needs. At a March 2005 conference, Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian officials met to follow up on specific 1994 treaty commitments to clean up and revive the Jordan River, on which little had been done in the preceding years.

Mountain Aquifer
Bordering populations: Israeli and Palestinian populations are the primary users of mountain aquifer water, which lies primarily beneath the West Bank.
Consumption of resources: A 2001 report estimated that Israel utilizes about 80 to 90 percent of the aquifer’s renewable water supply, which makes up about 25 percent of Israel’s total water supply. For West Bank Palestinians, the mountain aquifer is the only source of fresh water.
Cooperation over resources: The 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement contained provisions acknowledging the water rights of the Palestinians, set out mechanisms for joint management of water and sewage systems in the West Bank, and established a Joint Water Committee to oversee implementation. In addition, Israel agreed to transfer 28.6 million cubic meters annually to meet the needs of Palestinians in the West Bank.

Nile River Basin
Bordering populations: The Nile originates in central Africa and flows north through Sudan and Egypt, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. Over 60 percent of the river flow that reaches Egypt originates in Ethiopia; the remainder originates in the African Great Lakes region.
Cooperation over resources: In 1959, Egypt and Sudan signed the Nile Waters Treaty, which provided Egypt with 55.5 billion cubic meters of water per year and Sudan with 18.5. Ethiopia and other Nile River basin countries excluded from the treaty planned unilateral development projects for the Nile River. In 1999, the Nile Basin Initiative was launched by the nine states bordering the Nile, including Egypt and Sudan, in an effort to mediate a new cooperative framework for a more sustainable, equitable development of the river. The parties’ most recent attempts to negotiate a new treaty remain deadlocked over the wording of an article on water security.

Tigris and Euphrates River Basin
Bordering populations: The waters of the Tigris and Euphrates originate in Turkey and flow into Syria and Iraq. Turkey contributes 98 percent of the water for the Euphrates and 51.8 percent for the Tigris, Iraq contributes the remaining 49.2 to the Tigris, and Syria contributes an estimated 2 percent to the Euphrates.
Cooperation over resources: In 1975, Saudi Arabian mediation was necessary to avert conflict between Syria and Iraq after Turkish construction reduced water output downstream, limiting Iraqi access. Although the three bordering states formed a Joint Technical Committee on Regional Waters in 1982, it failed to resolve tensions over river basin development, and was ultimately dissolved. In 1990, Turkey cut off the Euphrates flow for a month in order to complete the Ataturk Dam. This act led to protests by Iraqi and Syrian officials, which resulted in Turkish promises to maintain a minimum flow of 500 cubic meters per second over the Turkish border into Syria and Iraq. In March 2008, the three countries announced their intentions to establish a tripartite institute at the Ataturk Dam to settle water distribution claims and exchange water development technology on a cooperative basis. The institute, funded by Turkey, is expected to publish its initial report on April 15.