196
high with more than 13 % (Weinberger et al. 2012 ). Regional climate change impact
will most probably lead to decreasing precipitation rates and increase drought
events (IPCC 2013 ).
Expected population growth will aggravate the water scarcity problems. For all
concerned stakeholders such as the water authorities and “the Friends of the Earth
Middle East”, it is evident that traditional water management offers no solution and
that demand and supply management has to be altered.
13.1.5 Proposed Strategies
Increasing environmental concerns about the state of the water resources and the
environment are calling for the rehabilitation of the Lower Jordan fl ows. The partial
restoration of the Lower Jordan River is an economically viable option as additional
income for the riparian populations could be generated from the benefi ts (Becker
et al. 2014 ).
Israel reacted to the water crisis with an enforced building of seawater desalination facilities and wastewater treatment plants for the reuse of water and with extensive structural and price reforms. The challenges and benefi ts of those reforms are
discussed in Bismuth et al. ( 2015b , in this volume, pp. 253–275).
Jordan equally started to implement measures like building the “Disi” Aquifer
Conveyance Project, aiming to use the fossil waters of this groundwater resource.
The recently inaugurated “Disi” pipeline will provide Jordan with an additional
annual supply in the order of 100 × 10
6 m
3 for the next 20–30 years depending on
abstraction rates. Consequences of existing use practices and specifi c challenges for
Jordan are addressed in Chap. 15 (Yorke 2015 , in this volume, pp. 227–251).
Setting up a seawater desalination plant at Aqaba combined with a conveyance
of the remaining brine to the Dead Sea is part of the planned RSDS Conveyance
Project. This project and its alternatives will be presented in Malkawi and Tsur
( 2015 , in this volume, pp. 205–225).
13.2 History of Water Confl icts, Cooperation and Treaties
The existing water accords play an important role for the defi nition of rules for
the management of the common water resources. They also have an infl uence on
the abstraction rates and the exchange of water between the riparians. A trilateral
project like the RSDS Conveyance Project further demands some level of cooperation. Therefore, we will shortly present the main and relevant agreements in
the context of the Lower Jordan Basin, and we will analyse them in regard to the
RSDS Project.
C. Bismuth
high with more than 13 % (Weinberger et al. 2012 ). Regional climate change impact
will most probably lead to decreasing precipitation rates and increase drought
events (IPCC 2013 ).
Expected population growth will aggravate the water scarcity problems. For all
concerned stakeholders such as the water authorities and “the Friends of the Earth
Middle East”, it is evident that traditional water management offers no solution and
that demand and supply management has to be altered.
13.1.5 Proposed Strategies
Increasing environmental concerns about the state of the water resources and the
environment are calling for the rehabilitation of the Lower Jordan fl ows. The partial
restoration of the Lower Jordan River is an economically viable option as additional
income for the riparian populations could be generated from the benefi ts (Becker
et al. 2014 ).
Israel reacted to the water crisis with an enforced building of seawater desalination facilities and wastewater treatment plants for the reuse of water and with extensive structural and price reforms. The challenges and benefi ts of those reforms are
discussed in Bismuth et al. ( 2015b , in this volume, pp. 253–275).
Jordan equally started to implement measures like building the “Disi” Aquifer
Conveyance Project, aiming to use the fossil waters of this groundwater resource.
The recently inaugurated “Disi” pipeline will provide Jordan with an additional
annual supply in the order of 100 × 10
6 m
3 for the next 20–30 years depending on
abstraction rates. Consequences of existing use practices and specifi c challenges for
Jordan are addressed in Chap. 15 (Yorke 2015 , in this volume, pp. 227–251).
Setting up a seawater desalination plant at Aqaba combined with a conveyance
of the remaining brine to the Dead Sea is part of the planned RSDS Conveyance
Project. This project and its alternatives will be presented in Malkawi and Tsur
( 2015 , in this volume, pp. 205–225).
13.2 History of Water Confl icts, Cooperation and Treaties
The existing water accords play an important role for the defi nition of rules for
the management of the common water resources. They also have an infl uence on
the abstraction rates and the exchange of water between the riparians. A trilateral
project like the RSDS Conveyance Project further demands some level of cooperation. Therefore, we will shortly present the main and relevant agreements in
the context of the Lower Jordan Basin, and we will analyse them in regard to the
RSDS Project.
C. Bismuth