Middle East: report proposes master plan for water for peace

The Middle East is likely to plunge into a serious humanitarian crisis due to depletion of water resources, unless remedial measures are introduced urgently, says a new report [1]. The Strategic Foresight Group prepared the report, “The Blue Peace”, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and input from almost 100 leaders and experts from Israel, the Palestine Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Turkey.

The report assesses the principal challenges linked to the trans-border management of resources. At present a factor of division and tension, water harbours the potential of becoming an instrument of peace and cooperation. This emerges as the report’s central thesis. Subsequently, it compiles a list of ten recommendations, calculated in the short, medium, and long terms, which are aimed to lead to pragmatic solutions.

Syria: water well upgrades offer solution for drought-hit northeast

Photo: UNDP Syria

An innovative approach to water resource management in Syria is estimated to be helping 18,000 people hit by a three-year long drought.

UNDP and its partners are upgrading a network of ancient water sources under the barren terrain of the country’s northeast, where water shortages have led to large-scale population displacement in recent years.

More than one million people, already close to the poverty line because of low incomes, have been affected by the drought which has driven tens of thousands of families to urban settlements such as Aleppo, Damascus and Deir ez Zour.

Syria, Salamieh: UNICEF and the Embassy of Denmark launch refurbished water plant in drought affected district

Syria is experiencing a severe drought that is jeopardizing the livelihoods of thousands of families. After a second straight year of poor rainfall, this country in the heart of the fertile crescent is, in places, becoming barren.

The supply of potable water is also dwindling, particularly in regions that rely on well water.

In response, the UN has issued a drought appeal for about $53 million to address the urgency of the situation.

New water plant in Salamieh

In Salamieh, in the central governorate of Hama, residents once depended on water from the Al Assi River processed through the 1960s-era Al Qantara Hydrostation. They now depend on local wells. As a result of the drought and climate change, well water is now only available at depths of 600 meters. Water from these wells, however, contains contaminants that make it unsafe for drinking.

To address the problem, Al Qantara Hydrostation has been refurbished with a reverse osmosis unit. The project is the result of a collaboration between the Ministry of Housing, the Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and the Hama Governorate–with additional funding from UNICEF, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the Embassy of Denmark.

Benefits for all

Joining the ambassador at the launch, and for a tour of the plant, was the Syrian Minister of Housing, Omar Ghalawanji; the Governor of Hama, Abdul Razak Al Qutaini; the Head of the Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation of Syria, Mohammad Al Shahoud; and UNICEF Representative in Syria Sherazade Boualia.

After the ceremony the delegation visited the local Ismail Salibi School, where there had been no water supply at all until the plant became operational.

“Now that the plant is almost fully working, water is available for the drinking and also for the cleaning and use in the toilets, which basically reduces the stress that the students and the teachers had when there was a lack of water,” said Ms. Boualia.

Approximately 120,000 residents will benefit from the new plant.

Watch a UN video on the opening of the plant.

Source: UNICEF, 02 Dec 2009

Turkey says more water for Iraq, Syria is unlikely

A water rights battle over the historic Tigris and Euphrates rivers simmered on [03 September 2009] as Iraq and Syria appealed for increased water flows to cope with severe drought but Turkey said it was already too overstretched.

Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said Turkey’s southeast region was also suffering from low rainfall and drought but the country was still releasing more water than it was legally obligated to its neighbors out of humanitarian concerns.

He said Turkey was releasing on average 517 cubic meters per second instead of the required 500 cubic meters per second, sacrificing its own energy needs in the process.

Turkey is advocating using water more efficiently and sustainably through joint projects instead of increasing water flows.

The meeting was called to discuss setting up joint stations to measure water volume at the rivers, as well as exchanging more information about climate and drought and creating joint education programs for more sustainable water management.

Drought-stricken Iraq has accused its upstream neighbors Turkey and Syria of taking too much from the rivers and their tributaries. The rivers’ low water flows are caused in part by the construction of dams in Turkey and Syria.

Turkey’s Environment Minister Veysel Eroglu said in opening remarks that Turkey was sacrificing energy production to release water from dams and alleviate water shortages downstream.

Nader al-Bunni, Syria’s irrigation minister, said his country was also letting more water flow into Iraq than required by agreements.

“We understand Iraq’s need for more water and we are letting 69 percent of the waters in the Euphrates for the bretheren people of Iraq. We have increased the amount from 58 percent to 69 percent,” he said.

Source: Todays Zaman, 03 Sep 2009

Water and peace for the people [book]

Water and peace for the people : possible solutions to water disputes in the Middle East
Jon Martin Trondalen
Water and Conflict Resolution Series – UNESCO-IHP (New series)
Book, 246 pages, 16 maps, 7 tables, 23 figs, colour photographs, annexes, biblio., index
2008, ISBN 978-92-3-104086-3
Price: € 38.00
Order here

This book proposes practical and objective solutions to the entrenched water conflicts in the Middle East. The author reveals and clarifies the complexity of the water conflicts, drawing on years of experience facilitating and chairing water negotiations in the region.

The bottom line is: Unless the countries involved co-operate, the consequences will be devastating. The lack of plentiful and clean water for the people will not only result in severe human suffering, but could also have grave geopolitical consequences.

The book covers four critical areas:
- the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, where new documentation reveals alarming trends,
- the politically sensitive Golan Heights, with its water disputed by Israel and Syria,
- the Hasbani water dispute between Lebanon and Israel,
- the longstanding water resource dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel / Syria: Turkish-mediated talks bring Golan Heights and water issues back to the table

Israel and Syria are holding indirect peace talks in Istanbul through Turkish mediators. This marks the first official confirmation that contacts have resumed since 2000. The two governments said they had declared their intent to conduct these talks in good faith and with an open mind, with the goal of reaching a comprehensive peace. Peace with Syria would require Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau which Israel captured in the 1967 war and has occupied ever since.

[...]

The main point of contention concerns a narrow strip of land along the Sea of Galilee, which Israel wants to keep to ensure its control of vital water supplies. On the ground, this gap is just several hundred meters. The sticking point is Syria’s demand for land reaching the northeastern shore of the inland sea.

“The key issue between Israel and Syria is first and foremost the strategic importance, from an Israeli perspective, of the Golan Heights”, said David Newman is a Professor of Political Geography and a Senior Research Fellow at Ben-Gurion University in Israel. “Second most important issue is the water issue, because much of Israel’s water sources in a region of scarce water, and it’s coming in from the Golan, and there’s no question that Israel would want to negotiate a very serious water-sharing agreement or some sort of water agreement with Syria if the Golan Heights were to be returned as part of an agreement”, Newman added.

See (video) and read more (transcript): Real New Network, 22 May 2008

According to reports in the Arab media, while the previous discussions in May were of a general nature, the next round of talks starting in June will focus on the details of four separate issues of a possible peace accord: borders, security aspects, water and normalisation.

Read more: Jerusalem Post, 10 Jun 2008