Ayala writes*
The Dead Sea, located on the border of Israel and Jordan, is drying up at a pace of more than one meter a year. The sea is an important tourist attraction, the lowest point on earth, a source of healthy mud minerals, and has a highly unique water composition. One impact from falling water levels are sinkholes, which are harming the natural area, man-made infrastructure, and livelihoods (Berman & Estrin, 2022).
The sea is located in the Judean desert, which is a rain-shadow desert, which means that most water comes from rivers and streams that flow from elsewhere (Caspi, 2011). In recent decades, 98% the water from these rivers has been diverted into agricultural and domestic purposes, leading to a significant decline in the sea’s water levels (Berman & Estrin, 2022)
One possible solution is the Red Sea-Dead Sea pipeline, or The Peace Conduit Project. It involves bringing water from the Red Sea (south of Israel and Jordan) to the Dead Sea through a 180km long canal (as can be seen from the map). The project has two stages: filling up to -400m and then maintaining that level (Gavrieli et al., 2003). By-products of the project are desalinized water, which is especially important to Jordan as it suffers from severe water shortage, and electricity that will be shared among Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority (Josephs, 2013).
There are many obstacles to this plan. The first is the cost, estimated at 10 billion dollars (Josephs, 2013). Moreover, while there is a peace agreement between Israel and Jordan, their relations are quite fragile adding complexity to the much-needed cooperation (Josephs, 2013). It is also important to note that there is a large and powerful mineral industry at the southern part of the Dead Sea, creating evaporation pools to collect the minerals. While their impact on the water loss of the Dead Sea is relatively not large, choosing to keep the water level only at -400, a level which leaves the northern part of the sea separate to the southern part and prevents damage to the industry, shows that they might impact the decision-making process (Gavrieli et al., 2003). In addition to these socio-economic constraints, there is also environmental criticism of the impact of “foreign” waters on the Sea’s physical and biological status (Gavrieli et al., 2003).
Bottom Line: The Red-Dead pipeline promises to save the Dead Sea, but its flaws need to be addressed.
* Please help my Environmental Economics students by commenting on unclear analysis, alternative perspectives, better data sources, or maybe just saying something nice :).
Hi Ayala, I enjoyed reading you Blog post.
Here are some comments and questions for your blog post;
The estimated $10 billion is a significant financial outlay. Is there any more information of how it will be funded, and what financing mechanisms will be applied? Who are the donors, are they international or organizations that contribute? And after it is constructed how will the annual cost affect the maintainaince of the construction? Are they taking into account the long term commitment to the project?
You mention the geopolitical tension between the countries which could cause inequality between the stakeholders of the agreement. How will the costs and benefits be equitably distributed among the involved nations, and will the Palestinian Authority, which is often excluded from regional agreements, have equal access to water and energy benefits? Can we even predict or look at this? Just a point to take into consideration.
One of the main benefits is definetively desalinized water. The sale of fresh water, especially to Jordan, could generate substantial revenue. But an important question is how the pricing will be structured to ensure affordability and profitability.
Another important point to highlight can be the economic stability of stabilizing the dead sea again; surrounding communities could benefit economically, preventing losses from sinkholes and other damage.
I was thinking of the scenario of restoration of the dead sea (I am unsure if its relevant in this case and analysis). The restoring could revive its value as a tourist destination, and this can be seen as both a benefit, yet also cost. Do you think you could find out the estimated increase in tourism revenue it could generate?
Cant wait to see the information and conclusion of the paper, this really got me interested! Good Luck!!!