Sister Lakes Project
by Beth Wise
The idea for the Sister Lakes Project was hatched
in 1993 by James Braver while on a boat in Lake Winnipesaukee, New
Hampshire. Braver was accompanied by Robert Varney, state Department
of Environmental Services Commissioner (now EPA's regional head for
all of New England), Jody Connor, Director of Limnology Labs for the
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), and Chaim
Shenar, an Israeli environmental official. After joking about what a
shame it was that the concept of sister lakes, like sister cities, doesn't
exist, the four men decided to get the project known today as "Sister
Lakes" underway.
Today the project has been in existance since then
with the help of NHDES, the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Cooperative
Extension Water Resources Program, and Monitor International based in
Annapolis, MD.
On April 12, 1995, Stephen Merrill, the governor of
New Hampshire, officially declared Lake Winnipesaukee to be the Sister
Lake of Israel's Sea
of Galilee. The project grew to incorporate the promotion of Arab-Israeli
coexistence, and various educational exchanges. "We're trying to
create an international agenda by bringing together cultures for a common
goal," said Braver. "Water is a global resource and we want
to show that it shouldn't represent boundaries."1
In New Hampshire, Lake Winnipesaukee is the main source
of water for the state. The beautiful landscape and outdoor activities
around the lake attracts tourists, and it is important for New Hampshire
to protect its water resources to continue pulling in revenue from tourism.
In Israel, the Sea of Galilee, or Kinneret,
provides similar scenery, hiking and boating opportunities, as well
as potential money from tourism.
Israel organizations such as the Union of Local Authorities
(ULA), an organization of Israeli governments in the Galilee area, and
the Ministry of the Environment, among others, worked with the U.S.
groups to make the project possible. In 1997 ULA paired up with Sister
Lakes in an attempt to foster cooperation between the two regions. Israeli
mayors Yossi Peretz of Tiberias and Israel Amrussi of Migdal visited New Hampshire to learn about the lake and its importance to
the region. They also came to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with area officials. "We have a great deal to share with Israel.
But I think a lot will come the other way especially in the areas of
water conservation techniques," said Department of Environmental
Services Commissioner Robert Varney.2
Although New Hampshire is blessed with an abundance
of water, Israel is not. Water resources from the Kinneret are as low
as ever, although it supplies Israelis with 22 - 33 percent of their
water usage, and a larger percentage of drinking water. Recently a certain
algae has grown in the Kinneret, and treatment is necessary for any
water taken directly from the reservoir. The source of the algae is
unknown, but two nearby sewage plants are suspected culprits.
In the 1950's, an attempt at preventing the spread
of malaria in the region forced much of the land surrounding the sea
to be used for agriculture, and the draining of many swamps near the
sea. As a result, water funneled into the Kinneret no longer naturally
filters out unneeded materials. Another surprise was that the peat at
the bottom of the old swamps combined with combustion, producing useless
square feet of arid land. The solution? Returning some of the water
back to the old swampland.
But another problem will be created when new water
is added. Israel must introduce
aquatic life into the new bodies of water that have no natural predators.
The unchecked growth of such aquatic life will compromise water quality.
Lake Winnipesaukee has also had its share of ills,
including E-coli bacteria, oil and gas. Boat traffic accounts for the
oil and gas increases, and an increase in boat rental fees helps to
pay for this cleanup.
Cooperation between the two regions will help in the
development of solutions to these problems. As Varney said during the
signing of the Memorandum of Understanding ceremony said: "We can't
deal with environmental issues on an isolated basis anymore. We need
to deal with them on a world context."3
As part of this international project, government officials
from Arab countries were brought
to participate. In June of 1997, Hussein Tarabieh, an environmental
engineer from the town of Sakhnin in Israel, is heavily involved in
water preservation in the Arab world. Tarabieh was able to persuade
the Arab officials of his hometown to allocate 20 acres of land to establish
an environmental technology demonstration center which would study water
purification and management. He is also instrumental in educating youngsters
and other Arab officials about environmental awareness. Tarabieh believes
that although a lot of work is being done by the Israeli
government, much can be done by promoting ecological awareness among
residents. A month later, participants in the New Hampshire town meeting
with Deputy Director of ULA Avi Rabinovitch included officials from
Jordan, Egypt, Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emerits and Saudi Arabia.
In 1998 a U.S. delegation traveled to Jerusalem to attend the International Conference on Sister Cities and Municipal
Organization. The conference, which Braver attended, was hosted by the
Union of Local Authorities in Israel. He hopes that an international
conference will be hosted by New Hampshire sometime in the near future.
Sources: Amsden, Roger. "Winnipesaukee, Galilee Achieve
Sister Status," The Union Leader, (April 13, 1995);
Cook, Robert M. "Israeli Scientist Studies
Lake Management in Granite State," The Citizen, (1997);
Kimble, James A. "Israeli-New Hampshire Partnership
Advanced At Meredith Ceremony," Meredith News, (May 28,
1997);
Lewis, Bea. "Lake Pact Inked." The
Citizen, (May 24, 1997);
Mauck, Erik P. "Tourism's Reliance on Environment
Stressed at Forum," The Citizen, (July 25, 1997);
Zibel, Alan. "Two mayors from Israel to visit
Lakes Region area," Concord Monitor, (April 17, 1997).
1. Mauck, Erik P. "Tourism's Reliance on Environment
Stressed at Forum." The Citizen, (July 25, 1997).
2. Lewis, Bea. "Lake Pact Inked." The
Citizen, (May 24, 1997).
3. Kimble, James A. "Israeli-New Hampshire Partnership
Advanced At Meredith Ceremony." Meredith News, (May 28,
1997). |