The retreat of the Dead Sea is causing concern to the governments of Israel, Jordan and Palestine but the US$14 million World Bank study into a project to bring water from the Red Sea to replenish the waters of the Dead Sea has come under fire from environmentalists and water experts, according to an article in The Jewish Journal. Public hearings on the plan have been held in Herzliya, Israel; Amman, Jordan; and Ramallah, Palestine.

The World Bank study is to cover feasibility, environmental impact and alternative solutions and the project, already being called the Red-Dead Canal, could be seen as a rare opportunity for regional co-operation. President Shimon Peres is said to have a vision of a Peace Valley along the canal to be developed as an international tourist destination with 200,000 hotel rooms, artificial lakes, casinos and skyscrapers to attract as many as 3 million residents. This project has been called ‘Las Vegas meets Dubai in the Arava Desert’.

Many preoccupations remain over the plans and environmentalists are calling for more time than the allotted year for studies to be conducted. There are concerns over the possible impact on the fragile Red Sea coral reefs, marine water seeping into ground water and the likely upset of the Dead Sea’s unique ecosystem. Some Israeli and Arab environmentalists say the Jordan River, historically the main source for the Dead Sea’s water, should be rehabilitated rather than undertaking such a complex and expensive project as the canal.

A Las Vegas in the Middle East is probably a long way from becoming a reality but it could anyway cause more problems than it would solve. As Las Vegas knows too well, providing water for large numbers of residents in a naturally desert region is a constant headache. Using Red Sea water to combat the annual loss of around 3.5 feet of water level from the Dead Sea and provide drinking and agricultural water for three nations plus tourist and industrial developments may not be sustainable in the long-term. The solution envisaged at present could in the future become a problem. (E-08.05.08)

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