Monday, May 14, 2007
ENVIRONMENT:
Dead Sea could vanish by 2050
Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians are slowly pushing through the tangle of their disputes and suspicions in a race to save a biblical and ecological treasure, the Dead Sea which may vanish by 2050 if nothing is done.
The famously salty sea, which lies at Earthâs lowest point, is shrinking. It has receded by some three feet a year for the past 25 years, and Jordan and Israel warn that if the trend continues, it will vanish by 2050 along with its unique ecosystem, defeated by river diversions, mineral extraction and natural reasons, like evaporation.
A crucial project to boost the water level by piping in water from the Red Sea has long been held up by disputes between Israel and its Palestinian and Jordanian neighbors.
âBut the ball began to roll a few months ago because of the gravity of the situation and the dangers facing the Dead Sea, which is a unique heritage not only to the countries that border it but to the whole world,â said Mohammed Thafer al-Alem, Jordanâs water minister.
The urgency is made clear by a dramatic side effect of the dwindling water: sinkholes.
These yawn open in a flash, leaving pits 100 feet deep or more in the sponge-like terrain. At Ghor Haditha, a Jordanian village of 6,000 people on the Dead Seaâs southern tip, signs warn of the peril and huge holes dot the vegetable fields.
With renewed Jordanian prodding to resurrect the project, a compromise was reached to include Palestinian moderates on a committee overseeing the project.
The feasibility study finally began this year, with 60 percent of its $15.5 million cost provided by the United States and other Western donors. The pipeline itself will cost $1 billion and take two years to complete, if funding can be found.
There are also plans for a $1.5 billion plant to desalinate Red Sea waters for use by Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians.
âThe Red-Dead project is very significant to Israel because the surrounding area is water-poor and in 10 or 15 years, there will be no water there,â except whatever is piped in for drinking water, said Israeli Foreign Ministry official Jacob Keidar, referring to groundwater wells in the nearby Jordan Valley area. He spoke in a telephone interview from Jerusalem.
Al-Alem, the Jordanian water minister, said the shrinkage was âmore catastrophicâ than that of the Aral Sea in Central Asia.
The Aral, once the worldâs fourth largest inland water body, has lost three quarters of its surface area in less than half a century because of Soviet-era diversion of rivers to promote farming.
âThe Dead Sea is a worse disaster than the Aral because itâs shrinking quicker and the catastrophe it poses is greater to the surrounding ecosystem, the economy from its minerals and the site as a world cultural and religious heritage,â al-Alem said. ap
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\14\story_14-5-2007_pg6_18
ENVIRONMENT:
Dead Sea could vanish by 2050
Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians are slowly pushing through the tangle of their disputes and suspicions in a race to save a biblical and ecological treasure, the Dead Sea which may vanish by 2050 if nothing is done.
The famously salty sea, which lies at Earthâs lowest point, is shrinking. It has receded by some three feet a year for the past 25 years, and Jordan and Israel warn that if the trend continues, it will vanish by 2050 along with its unique ecosystem, defeated by river diversions, mineral extraction and natural reasons, like evaporation.
A crucial project to boost the water level by piping in water from the Red Sea has long been held up by disputes between Israel and its Palestinian and Jordanian neighbors.
âBut the ball began to roll a few months ago because of the gravity of the situation and the dangers facing the Dead Sea, which is a unique heritage not only to the countries that border it but to the whole world,â said Mohammed Thafer al-Alem, Jordanâs water minister.
The urgency is made clear by a dramatic side effect of the dwindling water: sinkholes.
These yawn open in a flash, leaving pits 100 feet deep or more in the sponge-like terrain. At Ghor Haditha, a Jordanian village of 6,000 people on the Dead Seaâs southern tip, signs warn of the peril and huge holes dot the vegetable fields.
With renewed Jordanian prodding to resurrect the project, a compromise was reached to include Palestinian moderates on a committee overseeing the project.
The feasibility study finally began this year, with 60 percent of its $15.5 million cost provided by the United States and other Western donors. The pipeline itself will cost $1 billion and take two years to complete, if funding can be found.
There are also plans for a $1.5 billion plant to desalinate Red Sea waters for use by Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians.
âThe Red-Dead project is very significant to Israel because the surrounding area is water-poor and in 10 or 15 years, there will be no water there,â except whatever is piped in for drinking water, said Israeli Foreign Ministry official Jacob Keidar, referring to groundwater wells in the nearby Jordan Valley area. He spoke in a telephone interview from Jerusalem.
Al-Alem, the Jordanian water minister, said the shrinkage was âmore catastrophicâ than that of the Aral Sea in Central Asia.
The Aral, once the worldâs fourth largest inland water body, has lost three quarters of its surface area in less than half a century because of Soviet-era diversion of rivers to promote farming.
âThe Dead Sea is a worse disaster than the Aral because itâs shrinking quicker and the catastrophe it poses is greater to the surrounding ecosystem, the economy from its minerals and the site as a world cultural and religious heritage,â al-Alem said. ap
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\14\story_14-5-2007_pg6_18
