IPCRI Fact Sheet #2 Water Imports – An Alternative Solution to Water Scarcity in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan? January 2010 Water scarcity is a major concern in the Middle East, where most countries have only less than 500m3/capita/year of water available. The annual volume of actual renewable water resources per capita is 261m3 in Israel, approximately 90m3 in Palestine1, and 164m3 in Jordan, while water‐rich countries such as the United States have more than 10,000m3.2 Because the situation is getting worse as a result of sustained population growth and economic development in the region, measures must be taken urgently. Desalination is an attractive solution for Israel and other Arab countries. It is a simple solution and does not require transboundary cooperation, but it may not produce sufficient amount of fresh water to meet the rising demands.3 As a not alternative but a complementary solution, this fact sheet focuses on the potential of exporting water from Turkey to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. The Current Water Situation in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan
Israel, Palestine, and Jordan are under absolute water stress, and the situation is getting worse. In fact, a recent study reports that despite Israel’s current maximum exploitation of fresh water resources, 30 percent more water will be required to meet the needs of its population in 2020.4 As for Palestine and Jordan, a recent report states that many Palestinian communities have only interrupted water supply and that two hundred villages in the West Bank are not even connected to the water grid. Even Ramallah, which is at the top of the PA’s order of priorities, has running water only on alternate days of the week during the summer.5 In Jordan, water services operate only for 12 hours each day in Amman and elsewhere.6 Turkey’s Potential as a Water Exporter Among all Mediterranean countries, Turkey is most likely to supply water to Jordan, Palestine, and more especially Israel. Export is possible both practically and politically. Practical Feasibility 1
This figure derives from information published by the Palestinian Water Authority while international databases such as AQUASTAT which is managed by UN‐FAO put the figure substantially higher 2 (Rijsberman, 2005) (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) 3 (Rende, 2007) 4 (Rende, 2007) 5 (Feldman & Blau, 2009) 6 (Rende, 2007) 1