 What are the potential implications of an increasingly ‘water insecure’ world? WATER CONFLICTS To understand where the potential water conflicts in Israel

The Middle East  What did we identify as the problems in the Middle East?  How had Turkey tried to combat this?  Was it successful?

Israel  Israel is facing a shortage of water because  The population is growing (1.5% a year)  Droughts are increasingly common and prolonged  Internal competition for the limited water supplies is increasing  Often in dispute with it’s neighbours  Consumes more that it naturally receives 500 BILLION LITRES MORE

Political Stability  Israel has a history of political instability in the region  1967: Six Day War – Israel gained controlled over the Jordan River capturing the West Bank from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria and the Gaza Strip from Egypt  1993: Oslo Accords led to Israel withdrawing from parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank  1994: Jordan peace treaty initiated cooperation over the sustainable use of the Yarmouk River  2004: Manavgat Project – Turkey agreed to ship water to Israel in return for high-tech military support  These all mean that it is vital for Israel to secure water pathway s to help guarantee supplies

Political Stability  The Israelis say that they are constantly under militant attack and the very survival of the Jewish state hangs in the balance  The Palestinians claim a right to return to the land that refugees fled in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war or the Six Day War in 1967  Many Palestinians support suicide bombings and other militant attacks that often target civilians, arguing that the attacks are legitimate since civilians have been killed in Israeli strikes  When Israelis respond to attacks with their superior firepower, they are accused of using overkill on the Palestinian population  The Israeli government is criticized when they use means such as sanctions and blockades to try to force the Palestinian Authority's hand in stopping attacks on the Jewish state

Whose water is it?  The continuously shifting borders has not made Israel’s job of providing water any easy  Population is expected to increase to 11 million by 2050  Israelis still restrict the access that Palestinians have to water sources  Many Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of mismanagement

Water Sources  Israel have the highest consumption of all Middle Eastern countries (2200 billion L/yr)  Three main sources are beginning to show signs of degradation, with irreversible contamination by seawater  Each provides 25% of Israel’s water  The Sea of Galilee, fed by the R. Jordan and Golan Heights  Mountain aquifers, mostly in the West Bank  Coastal aquifers

Saline Intrusion

Your Task  We already know about how one country in the Middle East is tackling its water security  Israel is taking a very different approach  Research and create a case study on Israel’s water security issues  What issues are they facing?  What disputes are there?  Other dilemmas they are facing  Plans of action for the future

What do you think?  Which country has managed its problems more effectively?  Is new technology replacing dams as the solution to our water problems?

What do we already know?  What do we already know about the water situation in Africa?