Jordan, Israel, Palestinians join forces to save Dead Sea (2003)

Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians are hoping that world leaders gathered on the shores of the Dead Sea this weekend will back their efforts to help save the lowest body of water on Earth.

Over the past three years the Dead Sea has decreased by three meters and the whole area is currently one third less than it used to be in the 1960s due to the diversion of the Jordan River water for irrigation, experts said.

A goldmine for potash extractors and a magnet for tourists who come to bathe in its salty waters, the Dead Sea could disappear in 50 years.

"The Dead Sea basin is facing an environmental decline and if it continues like this it will hit a catastrophe," Jordanian Water Minister Hazem Nasser cautioned.

To contain the damage, Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian officials will submit a project to channel water through a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, at the weekend meeting here of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Nasser warned saving the mineral-rich Dead Sea was a large-scale project that would not just happen overnight.

"It needs a lot of studies and preparation and huge financial resources," he said.

"We have to do a series of studies first: environmental, social, technical. We did a pre-feasibility study and we are now shooting for a full feasibility study."

The project, which the sides hope to fund through the World Bank and the private sector, is estimated to cost 1.5 billion dollars.

约旦、以色列和巴勒斯坦希望本周末齐聚死海海岸参加世界经济论坛的各国领导人能够对他们的计划提供支持：拯救死海--这个地球的最低点。

专家称，在过去三年中，死海的水位已经下降了3米。由于约旦河的水源被改道以为灌溉所用，无法注入死海，因此同60年代相比，目前整个死海水域的水量已经不足原先的三分之一。

死海海水中蕴含大量碳酸钾；同时还是旅游胜地，吸引众多游客来此泡盐水浴。但是照此发展下去，未来50年内死海将会永远消失。

约旦水利部长那瑟警告说："死海正面临环境恶化。如果继续照此发展下去的话，灾难就会降临，死海将会消失。"
为了化解危机，环绕死海的三个国家：约旦、以色列和巴勒斯坦的官员们将会在本周末的世界经济论坛上提交一份计划，启动从红海通过运河往死海注水的工程。

那瑟说，此项拯救死海（这片矿藏丰富的海域）的计划是一项大规模的工程，不会在朝夕之间一蹴而就。

他说："我们必须首先做一系列研究工作：环境的、社会的、技术的。我们已经做过一个前期的可行性研究，现在我们正在努力进行一项全面的可行性研究。"

约旦、以色列和巴勒斯坦三方都希望这项计划的实施能够从世界银行和私营行业中获得基金，预计将高达15亿美元。

译者注：
死海是位于巴勒斯坦、以色列和约旦之间的一片美丽而又神奇的水域，是一个内陆盐湖。因湖水中盐分极高、生物无法在里面生存而得名。死海的水面是地球上陆地的最低点，水面平均低于海平面约400米，因此死海还有"地球肚脐"的别称。约旦河从其北部注入。