Water for the Future The West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel, and Jordan (1999) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction and Background
1 Introduction and Background
Pages 10-23
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From page 10... ...
For future generations, the concerns are to ensure adequate water supplies, preserve the quality of the environment, and achieve greater equity in distributing water throughout the region. Water supplies adequate to meet basic human needs are clearly essential for maintaining and enhancing the welfare of all inhabitants in the region.
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From page 11... ...
A perceived gap between estimated future water supplies and water demands is not an adequate basis for water resources planning. Plans must be flexible and robust enough to deal with the uncertainties inherent in hydrologic phenomena, future patterns of social organization and water use, and long-term climatic changes.
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From page 12... ...
, the two countries agree to cooperate in the "transfer of information and joint research and development in water-related subjects." Annex II establishes a Joint Water Committee to implement the agreement: the countries agree to "exchange relevant data on water resources through the Joint Water Committee" and to "cooperate in developing plans for purposes of increasing water supplies and improving water use efficiency, within the context of bilateral, regional or international cooperation." Annex IV, Environment, obligates the countries to cooperate on Jordan River "ecological rehabilitation, environmental protection of water resources, and nature reserves and protected areas." This commitment underpins our committee's attention to issues of biological diversity and water resources. Appendix A presents the text of the water-related provisions of the Treaty of Peace.
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From page 13... ...
The representatives felt that misuse and overuse of water resources would lead to deterioration of environmental quality, including water quality. Because most Middle East countries share common problems in development, notably in the often related areas of water, environment, and energy, the representatives proposed a study on sustainable regional water supplies.
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From page 14... ...
The committee was to focus on "methods developed in the Middle East and elsewhere for enhancing water supplies and avoiding over-exploitation of water resources, and on the relationships between water supply enhancement and preservation of environmental quality, especially water quality." Specifically, the committee was to consider "the scientific and technological basis of a range of related issues such as use of treated municipal wastewater for irrigation and other purposes, desalination, water harvesting, cleanup of ground-water contamination, and opportunities offered by improved conservation technologies and strategies to enhance water quality and prevent resource degradation." Because water resources are critical to both the economic development and the maintenance of natural systems, the committee endorses the concept of intergenerational equity in the use of freshwater resources. This concept is an overarching theme throughout the report.
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From page 15... ...
The socioeconomic development of both Israel and Jordan since 1950 have depended substantially on the construction of the National Water Carrier and the King Abdullah (East Ghor) Canal.
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These trends will have a profound effect on the role of irrigated agriculture in the area and pose a major water supply challenge. The primary challenge for regional water resources is to make scarce water as productive as possible, while ensuring equitable distribution of the resource.
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The need for intergenerational equity is particularly acute in the Middle East, where freshwater supplies are scarce, their use intensive, the claimants to them many, and the potential for depriving future generations of adequate freshwater supplies, at least at comparable prices, quite real. The development and use of freshwater resources raise many intergenerational issues, including potential degradation of resource quality and resource depletion, as well as equitable access to supplies and opportunities to supply human needs.
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From page 18... ...
The principles of intergenerational equity thus require representation of the interests of future generations, whether in administrative and political decision making, judicial determinations, or the market place. The actions recommended to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development from the 1997 Assessment of Freshwater Resources of the
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From page 19... ...
Intergenerational fairness implies the necessity for a wide variety of measures, some discussed in this report: good monitoring of water resources quality; scientific and technological research and development for more efficient use of available resources without their contamination or degradation; intergenerational assessments of the effects of particular water projects and uses; effective maintenance of capital investments, such as dams, municipal sewage treatment plants, and water delivery systems; protection of aquifers' recharge areas by appropriate land use planning; and equitable systems for sharing resources among communities. Applying a biogeophysical view, development approaches must be aimed at improving environmental conditions without compromising the capacity to maintain improved conditions indefinitely (Holdren, Daily, and Ehrlich, 1995~.
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Consideration of ecological factors related to water is not a luxury, but should be an integral part of planning and management. THE COMMITTEE'S APPROACH TO THE PRESENT STUDY The committee's work focuses on scientific and technological information and methods to help maintain or increase water supplies on a sustainable basis in the Middle East.
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From page 21... ...
The committee has drawn on experience from other parts of the world when it is relevant to Middle East conditions, and it has evaluated to the best of its ability the currently available regional data. The committee has also drawn information and data from recently published reports analyzing regional water resources and demand.
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1997b. Comprehensive Assessment of the Freshwater Resources of the World CSD.
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From page 23... ...
U.S. President's Council on Sustainable Development.
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