Competition and conflict: water management in the Jordan River basin

• Main Author: Hill, Mary Patricia
• Other Authors: Parker, P.J.
• Language: en_US
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/31446

With the end of the Cold War, and the predictability of bi-polar power arrangements, the shape of global security will be required to change to face the emerging threats of the future. Changes to the global environment, through pollution, unrestrained population growth, and over-exploitation of existing resources, will be among these future threats. Regional security arrangements will be essential to controlling these threats, which know no territorial boundaries. It is the threat of conflict over water, in areas of scarce supply and surging populations, that forms the framework of analysis for this paper. One area in particular, the Jordan River basin, on the western Arabian Peninsula, is one of the most arid, populated regions on earth. Since the partitioning of the Arabian Peninsula, and the inclusion of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, this region has experienced conflict over water. This paper examines the situation in the region in terms of historical conflict over water, past attempts to manage supplies on a regional basis, and possible solutions to mitigate the potential for future conflict.