SRES 330 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the degradation of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea and welcoming cooperation between the peoples of Israel, Jordan, and Palestine.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

September 25, 2007

Mr. LUGAR submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign RelationsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the degradation of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea and welcoming cooperation between the peoples of Israel, Jordan, and Palestine.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Dead Sea and the Jordan River are bodies of water of exceptional historic, religious, cultural, economic, and environmental importance for the Middle East and the world;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the world's 3 great monotheistic faiths--Christianity, Islam, and Judaism--consider the Jordan River a holy place;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas local governments have diverted more than 90 percent of the Jordan's traditional 1,300,000,000 cubic meters of annual water flow in order to satisfy a growing demand for water in the arid region;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Jordan River is the primary tributary of the Dead Sea and the dramatically reduced flow of the Jordan River has been the primary cause of a 20 meter fall in the Dead Sea's water level and a 1/3 decline in the Dead Sea's surface area in less than 50 years;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Dead Sea's water level continues to fall about a meter a year;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the decline in water level of the Dead Sea has resulted in significant environmental damage, including loss of freshwater springs, river bed erosion, and over 1,000 sinkholes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas mismanagement has resulted in the dumping of sewage, fish pond runoff, and salt water into the Jordan River and has led to the pollution of the Jordan River with agricultural and industrial effluents;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the World Monuments Fund has listed the Jordan River as one of the world's 100 most endangered sites;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas widespread consensus exists regarding the need to restore the quantity and quality of the Jordan River water flow and to restore the water level of the Dead Sea;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Governments of Jordan and Israel, as well as the Palestinian Authority (the `Beneficiary Parties'), working together in an unusual and welcome spirit of cooperation, have attempted to address the Dead Sea water level crisis by articulating a shared vision of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Concept;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas Binyamin Ben Eliezar, the Minister of National Infrastructure of Israel, has said, `The Study is an excellent example for cooperation, peace, and conflict reduction. Hopefully it will become the first of many such cooperative endeavors';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas Mohammed Mustafa, the Economic Advisor for the Palestinian Authority, has said, `This cooperation will bring wellbeing for the peoples of the region, particularly Palestine, Jordan, and Israel . . . We pray that this type of cooperation will be a positive experience to deepen the notion of dialogue to reach solutions on all other tracks';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas Zafer al-Alem, the former Water Minister of Jordan, has said, `This project is a unique chance to deepen the meaning of peace in the region and work for the benefit of our peoples';CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Concept envisions a 110-mile pipeline from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea that would descend approximately 1,300 feet creating an opportunity for hydroelectric power generation and the desalination and restoration of the Dead Sea;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas some have raised legitimate questions regarding the feasibility and environmental impact of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Concept;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Beneficiary Parties have asked the World Bank to oversee a feasibility study and an environmental and social assessment whose purpose is to conclusively answer these questions;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Concept would not address the degradation of the Jordan River;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas the Beneficiary Parties could address the degradation of the Jordan River by designing a comprehensive strategy that includes tangible steps related to water conservation, desalination, and the management of sewage and agricultural and industrial effluents; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Whereas Israel and the Palestinian Authority are expected to hold high-level meetings in Washington in November 2007 to seek an enduring solution to the Arab-Israeli crisis: Now, therefore, be itCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Resolved, That the Senate--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) calls the world's attention to the serious and potentially irreversible degradation of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) applauds the cooperative manner with which the Governments of Israel and Jordan, as well as the Palestinian Authority (the `Beneficiary Parties'), have worked to address the declining water level and quality of the Dead Sea and other water-related challenges in the region;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) supports the Beneficiary Parties' efforts to assess the environmental, social, health, and economic impacts, costs, and feasibility of a possible pipeline from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea in comparison to alternative proposals;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) encourages the Governments of Israel and Jordan, as well as the Palestinian Authority, to continue to work in a spirit of cooperation as they address the region's serious water challenges;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) urges Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority to develop a comprehensive strategy to rectify the degradation of the Jordan River; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) hopes the spirit of cooperation manifested by the Beneficiary Parties in their search for a solution to the Dead Sea water crisis might serve as a model for addressing the degradation of the Jordan River, as well as a model of peace and cooperation for the upcoming meetings in Washington between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as they seek to resolve long-standing disagreements and to develop a durable solution to the Arab-Israeli crisis.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink