E
The Dead Sea's rapid retreat
is visible in this view.
-2
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Red Sea-Dead Sea canal stirs
environmental objections.
Dina Kraft
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Herzliya, Israel
0
n aerial photographs, the
shrinking Dead Sea juts
into the surrounding desert
landscape like a blue index finger.
As part of the effort to prevent this
finger from becoming a mere smudge
on the map by 2050, the World Bank
is conducting a $14 million study into
the practicalities of building a channel
to bring water from the Red Sea to the
Dead Sea, which is shrinking rapidly
due to evaporation and upstream
water diversion.
Proponents say the plan could
rescue the Dead Sea while supplying
desalinated water and hydroelectric
power to the region.
"We will have to balance the techno-
logical, environmental and economic
issues at the heart of this complex
study:' Peter Darley, the team leader of
the feasibility part of the World Bank
study, said at a public hearing last
week in Herzliya.
Similar public hearings were held
earlier in the week in Amman, Jordan,
and the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The governments of Israel, Jordan
and the Palestinian Authority, all of
which stand to benefit from such a
project, had asked the World Bank
to fund and oversee the study on the
implications of building a 112-mile
long conveyance system — either a
canal or pipeline — to bring the water
to the Dead Sea.
The idea has come under intense
fire from Israeli environmentalists and
water experts, who argue that more
time than the currently allotted year
needs to be devoted to studying the
possible scientific consequences of the
project. They cite the potential envi-
ronmental damage the project could
cause, whether it be to the fragile coral
reefs of the Red Sea or the unique
Dead Sea ecosystem. They say alterna-
tives must be studied in tandem by
independent-minded international
consultants, not representatives of the
three governments involved, as is cur-
rently proposed.
"It's like asking a cat to guard a
bowl of milk," said Gidon Bromberg,
the Israel director of Friends of the
Earth Middle East.
At Issue
Bromberg and other critics of the
canal plan charge that the Israeli,
Jordanian and P.A. governments
are interested in the canal solution
because the international community
might foot the bill for it as a massive
desalinization or peace project.
Alex McPhail, the program manager
at the World Bank who is oversee-
ing the overall study, says the bank is
being methodical and scientific. He
noted that the World Bank's approach
consists of three parts: a feasibility
study, an environmental impact study
and a report on alternative solutions.
"It's an environmental question
mark and that's why we are doing
these studies:' McPhail said. "It's
very important that we examine and
understand all the potential environ-
mental implications:'
Proponents of the canal argue
that the project could be a one-stop
solution for replenishing the waters
of the Dead Sea, generating energy,
and providing drinking and agricul-
tural water for Jordan, Israel and the
Palestinians. The project also is being
touted as a rare symbol of regional
cooperation.
The sea's retreat already has
spawned thousands of dangerous
sinkholes in the region. Created by
Sea on page A24
Federation's
Ian evvis
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