Opinion: Middle East should form Water Union

Perhaps the conflicts in the Middle East might be easier to solve when civilians can meet their everyday water and energy needs, suggests former Israeli foreign minister Ben Ami. Ami believes the answer to unrest in the region might be very similar to the answer post-war Europe embraced: create a union, a Middle East Water and Energy Union that is.

Despite today’s chronic pessimism, the pursuit of a Middle East Water and Energy Union, coupled with adoption of the Arab Peace Initiative, would change mindsets. Together, they would form a mutually reinforcing process: a political agreement would provide the framework in which the region’s water and energy needs can be met; and meeting these basic needs in an effective and innovative way would make the Arab Peace Initiative more than a paper deal.

Moreover, the arid triangle formed by Israel, Palestine, and Jordan cannot meet its water needs unless yet another dimension is incorporated into the solution. A World Bank report has already stated that, with 19 million people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean by 2020, water needs would not be met without making existing technologies of desalinization more economically viable.

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Source: The Guatemala Times