The Red-Dead Project: Potential for Regional Peace

The recent progress on the Red-Dead Project, a water pipeline that would transfer water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, has the potential to foster regional peace between Israel and Jordan.

Itamar Eichner in Yedioth Ahronoth:

A breakthrough in the Red-Dead Project: Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom has announced his success in forging an agreement between Israel, Jordan and the World Bank, which will provide a significant thrust for the project that has been stuck for years.

In a meeting between the regional development minister and World Bank President Robert Zoellik, it was decided that the bank would support the plan being formulated between Jordan and Israel. In parallel, Shalom met secretly with senior officials in Jordan in order to secure understandings on the matter.

Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom told Yedioth Ahronoth yesterday: "This is a dramatic move that will jump start the project which has been delayed for many years. This project is part of regional peace, and I hope that it will lead to many more such projects in conjunction with Jordan, the Palestinians, and all the region's countries."

The involvement of the World Bank brings political as well as economic value: according to political sources, there was tension between Israel and Jordan following Minister Shalom's decision to promote the project. Meanwhile, the Jordanians created their own company to promote the project, but it was clear that its success mandated some international sponsorship.

Some water experts express concern over the potential impact of the water project until the environmental consequences of dumping Red Sea water into the Dead Sea are better understood. Ehud Zion Waldoks in The Jerusalem Post:

There is no need to rush into the pilot project for the Red-Dead conduit that Regional Cooperation Minister Silvan Shalom has announced, a water expert told The Jerusalem Post Sunday.

"We don't know what all the consequences of pumping sea water into the Dead Sea would be, so maybe we should take more time to explore. There are a lot of Israeli engineers and scientists with expertise who could be brought in," said Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prof. Avner Adin, a professor of soil and water sciences and founder and past president of the Israeli Water Association.

Shalom announced plans to build a "pilot" pipe 180 km long from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea on Saturday, after meeting with World Bank President Robert Zoellick. Two hundred million cubic meters (mcm) per year would be pumped through the pipe, half of which would be desalinated for Jordanian consumption and half put into the Dead Sea.

Shalom said he had received a green light from the World Bank, despite the fact that the feasibility studies for the project are only set to be completed next year. A World Bank representative told the Post on Saturday night they had no knowledge of such a pilot project.

Turning to the Red-Dead conduit project as a whole, Adin cautioned against taking action until as many of the consequences had been taken into account as possible.

In the Dead Sea water project, both the environment and regional politics are at risk.  If not handled properly, the project may result in a damaged Dead Sea and a damaged Jordanian-Israeli relationship.  Aviv Lavie in Ma'ariv:

The fear of what will happen at the moment when hundreds of millions of cubic meters of Red Sea water mix with the Dead Sea is not the only reason that the announcement of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal alarmed scientists and environmentalists.  The goal is, of course, laudable.  It is difficult to find a reasonable person who does not want to save the Dead Sea and provide good water to the dry Jordanian economy.  But the question is whether for all the good will, this mega-project will not drown the baby along with the salty water.  If even a small fraction of the horrific scenarios materialize, no one will be able to repair the damage that the Red-Dead Canal will cause.

Scientists, not necessarily members of the environmentalist camp, raise a number of concerns: the route between the two seas passes along the Syrian-African Rift; in an earthquake, say the concerned observers, the canal will split, the saline water will flood the groundwater reserves of the Arava and render them permanently useless; pumping huge amounts of water from the Gulf of Eilat may damage the coral reefs; and there is the mystery of the water mixture: if the chemical reaction that is created cancels the attractive spa qualities of the Dead Sea, the damage to tourism, the economy and the ecology will greatly outweigh the benefits.

Above all hovers politics: Jordan desperately needs desalinated water.  Israel wants to help, and justifiably so.  If Israel says "no" to the canal, it will have to deal with King Abdullah, who announced several weeks ago, in a well-orchestrated spin, that he was fed up with the red tape and would build the canal on his own.  The canal is good for the Jordanians, and also good for the politicians: Shimon Peres made favorable headlines at its expense, and now Silvan Shalom.  War, as we know, is a disaster for the environment.  Now it becomes apparent that peace also bears risks with it.