Transcript Water in the Jordan Valley

Introduction to Water and
Water Law in the Jordan
Valley
Joseph W. Dellapenna
Villanova University School of Law
[email protected]
Transboundary Water around the
World
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Cooperative Contexts
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United States Border Waters
The Rhine Basin
The Danube Basin
The Rio de la Plata Basin
Conflictual Contexts
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The Indus Valley
The Mekong Valley
The Nile Valley
The Tigris-Euphrates Valley
Water in the Middle East
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The largest dry region
on the planet
 Rivers originate
outside the driest
parts of the region
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The rivers are “exotic”
A history of empires
built around the control
of water
Many regions rely on
“fossil” water
The Jordan River
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Arises from the springs on the
slopes of Mt. Hermon—
considerable dispute as to in
which country the springs are
located
Three smaller rivers join to
form the Jordan just above a
natural reservoir—the Sea of
Gallilee (Lake Kinneret, or
Lake Tiberias)
Flows down into the rift valley
to end in a sink (the Dead Sea)
Receives one major tributary—
the Yarmuk
Fully exploited, perhaps over
exploited
Other Water Sources in the Jordan
Valley
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Nearby Rivers
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The Litani
• Entirely within Lebanon
• Arises in the Bekaa Valley from
the rain over the Lebanese
Mountains and Mt. Hermon
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The Orontes
• Arises in the Bekaa Valley
• Flows down to Syria and Turkey
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The Aquifers
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The “Mountain Aquifer”
• Generally viewed as three
aquifers, with a common source
• All fed from rainfall on the Judean
or Palestinian hills
• Not yet fully exploited, but
vulnerable to pollution
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The “Coastal Aquifer”
• Some dispute whether it is one or
several aquifers
• Today overexploited and suffering
from salt water intrusion
The Economic Context
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Israel
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Jordan
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Arguably a water-surplus state
A burgeoning population burdened with masses of refugees
Plagued by political instability
Palestine
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An arid land
A burgeoning population burdened with masses of refugees
Consumes about one-third as much water as Israel with a similar population
Lebanon
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A semi-arid land
A burgeoning population
European standards of consumption
A semi-arid land
A burgeoning population
Water consumption levels even lower than in Jordan
The Jordan River unusable by the time it reaches the Palestinian territories
Water usage never under Palestinian control
Large quantities within the occupied territories consumed by Israeli settlements
Syria
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Historically not dependant on the waters of the Jordan or the Yarmuk
Now seeks some of this water to supply the growing city of Damascus
Well placed to interfere with water usage in the other national communities
The Problem of Water Sharing in
the Jordan Valley
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Early plans for water development
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Early appraisals
The Lowdermilk Plan
The Johnston Plan
The National Water Carrier
Eighty years of covert cooperation
Alternative sources of water
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Conservation
Recycling
Importing water
Desalination
Weather modification
The Current Situation
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The Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty (1994)
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Recognizes that the available water is insufficient to meet all needs
Promise not to manage or develop water in a way that harms the other
party and to cooperate to develop new sources
Small re-allocations of water resources
The Oslo Accords (1993 to present)
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Oslo I—The Declaration of Principles (1993)
• Promises to cooperate regarding water on the basis of equitable utilization
• Not clear if it was intended to be legally binding
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Oslo II—The Interim Agreement (1994)
• A limited transfer of authority over water to the Palestinian Authority
• Water to be allocated according to law
• Existing Israeli uses within the occupied territories to continue
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The Second Interim Agreement (1995)
• Four of eleven schedules deal with water
• 70-80 MCM of water to be made available to the Palestinians
• A Joint Water Committee to approve policies and Joint Supervision Teams to
supervise operations
• Reinforces Palestinian dependence of Israeli facilities
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Under the infitada (1999 to present)
The Tripartite Agreement (1996)
What Lessons Can International
Law Teach?
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Only riparian states have a legal claim upon a water resource
 Traditional (competing) theories
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Absolute Territorial Sovereignty
Absolute Riverine Integrity
Equitable Utilization
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States are developing a new governing paradigm - joint, basin-wide
management (sometimes called “equitable participation”)
 The Berlin Rules on Water Resources available at www.ilahq.org/pdf/Water%20Resources/Final%20Report%202004.pdf
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Approved by the ILA, 21 August 2004 as a summary of contemporary
international law regarding water resources
The New Paradigm (all waters):
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Participatory management
Conjunctive management
Integrated management
Sustainability
Minimization of environmental harm
The New Paradigm (internationally shared waters):
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Cooperation
Equitable utilization
Avoidance of transboundary harm
Equitable participation
Selected International Rules
Applicable to All Waters
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Participatory Management
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A right of access to water
A right to a voice in decisions affecting one’s life
Access to education
Protection of particularly vulnerable communities
A right to compensation
Access to legal remedies
Sustainability and the Minimization of Environmental
Harm
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Ecological integrity
• Ecological flows
• Alien species
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Pollution prevention or control
Hazardous substances
Prior assessment of impacts
Precautionary principle
Least net environmental harm
Compensation for injuries (“polluter pays”)
International Rules Applicable to
Internationally Shared Waters
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International cooperation
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Exchange of information
Notification of programs, projects, or activities
Consultations
Harmonization and coordination of national policies
Establishment of joint management institutions
Equitable utilization—having “due regard” to the avoidance of harm
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No a priori preferences—except for “vital human needs”
Factors to be considered:
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Natural features;
The social and economic needs of the States;
Each State’s dependence on the waters in question;
The effects of actual or proposed uses in one State upon actual or proposed
uses in the other State;
The extent of conservation or economy of use in each State;
Existing and potential uses;
The availability of alternatives to the planned or existing use;
The sustainability of proposed or existing uses; and
The minimization of environmental harm.
Avoidance of transboundary harm—having “due regard” to equitable
utilization