The Water Resources Working Group
The aims of the Water Resources Working Group, as expressed in the Moscow
Steering Group meeting (January 1992) were to foster cooperation on water
related issues while creating confidence building measures, and
cooperative efforts to alleviate water shortages of the parties,
through:
A. Enhancement of data availability
B. Enhancement of water supply
C. Water management and conservation
D. Concepts of regional cooperation.
Taking into consideration that the water resources of the region are
already fully exploited and demand for water is rising rapidly, the issue
of water has become one of the most urgent. Given its importance to
sustaining the quality of life and future economic development, emphasis
is being placed on enhancing existing resources and developing new,
additional resources, including desalination and sewage treatment.
The activities of the working group include various projects and
workshops, and the training of water personnel. The steering group of the
Water Resources Working Group last convened in Hammamet, Tunisia, in May
1996.
In the four categories defined above, the following activities have been
carried out:
A. Enhancement of water data availability:
The Middle East Water Data Banks Plan - The U.S. and the E.U. are
heading a project to establish data banks on hydrological data. Of 40
priority recommendations, more than half have been implemented or are
currently being implemented. These include establishing regional
directories of water resource professionals, water institutions,
publications, projects and studies, establishing a geographic reference
system, establishing agreed-upon water standards, and more. Among the
donor countries taking part in the initiative are Canada, France, the
Netherlands, and Australia.
B. Enhancement of water supply:
Middle East Regional Study on Water Supply and Demand Development - The
project, sponsored by the German government, involved collecting data
from the three core parties regarding current demand and projected
demand for the years 2010, 2020 and 2040. This information was then
compared to the available water resources in the region, and the
anticipated gap between supply and demand was calculated for these time
frames. The second stage of the project was to identify different
solutions for bridging the gap. The solution found to be most suitable
for the region was desalination. The third phase, which finalized the
project in February 1998, identified priority activities for the region
to be implemented in the short term. These include joint development of
a prototype desalination plant, as well as comparative studies on
desalination schemes.
The Middle East Desalination Research Center - The Center was
established in Oman in December 1996 and coordinates and sponsors basic
and applied research in the area of desalination. In addition, the
Center promotes and organizes various training courses in this field.
The U.S., Israel, Japan, Oman, the E.U. and Korea are the founding
members of this first regional center, and comprise its board of
directors. To date, about $1.5 million have been distributed to
research project partners from the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. A
number of training courses have been held for regional participants. A
workshop on desalination was held in Eilat in February 1996.
C. Water management and conservation:
Public Awareness Project - The U.S. has sponsored a project aimed at
raising awareness, especially of children, to the shortage of water in
our region and to the wise use of water resources. Seven parties are
participating in this project: Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, the PA,
Israel, Oman and Egypt. At the last meeting, a local work plan targeted
at children was established, parts of which will comprise a regional
public awareness program. A video describing the achievement of the
project will be broadcast on regional television channels.
D. Concepts of regional cooperation:
Comparative Survey of regulatory and legal framework of water laws,
pricing and management - A comparative study outlining these issues has
been conducted by the Norwegian government through CESAR. A document
was subsequently drafted identifying principles for regional
cooperation. This declaration was signed in June 1996. The first
project to result from this was the establishment of the Waternet
project, designed t o develop a computerized information system for
water related issues to serve as a tool for researchers in the region
and to enhance regional cooperation. Computer nodes are currently being
interconnected within each party. The next phase will be the
establishment of the regional network.
It is estimated that the total investments in the projects of the
working group amount to some $45 million.
Sources: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |