The Jordan River watershed, with all its competing national and
economic pressures, provides a clear example of the strategic importance of
water as a scarce resource. If emphasis is placed on easing regional water
tensions, some breathing space might be gained, allowing for more complex
political and historical difficulties to be negotiated. Because the water
problems to be solved involve all of the parties in conflict, and because these
issues are so fundamental, the search for regional solutions might actually be
used as a tool to facilitate. People who cannot talk together about history or
politics might talk about water if their lives and economies depended on it.
The present "hydropolitical" situation in the Middle East is one
of intricate problems and delicate solutions. The equitable distribution of
scarce water resources in the Jordan River watershed is particularly precarious.
Both the dangers of conflict and the opportunities for cooperation are growing,
as annual supplies are being