To save the Dead Sea from further shrinkage, Jordan and Israel announced that they were pursuing a $1 billion joint project to pipe water from the Red Sea, says a feature story posted on the website of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The lowest point on the Earth, the Dead Sea has fallen even lower as its water level has dropped from 395 meters below sea level to 410 over the last thirty years with water diverted to other uses. The Sea, which borders Jordan, Israel and Palestinian Authority lands, has already divided into two parts, and studies show the southern part disappearing within fifty years if no action is taken.
"We cannot wait," according to Jordanian Minister of Water Hazem El Nasser. "There is an urgent need to move or we will suffer severe consequences."
"We cannot wait," according to Jordanian Minister of Water Hazem El Nasser. "There is an urgent need to move or we will suffer severe consequences."
El Nasser explained that the project, which will require international cooperation, involves building a largely underground "Peace Conduit" from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Dead Sea through the Aqaba Valley. The project, he said, would not harm the coral reefs in the Red Sea.
Part of the envisioned project involves building desalinization plants that can provide freshwater to the people in the region, and there is an opportunity to take advantage of the drop in sea level to generate hydropower.
Part of the envisioned project involves building desalinization plants that can provide freshwater to the people in the region, and there is an opportunity to take advantage of the drop in sea level to generate hydropower.