Indeed, much of the Israeli-Palestinian land dispute is in fact centered on water rights, as both communities are battling for control of extremely limited water resources.

Additionally, Israel has long envied Lebanon's Litani and Zahrani rivers that flow through the south of the country. During the last three decades Israel has launched repeated military operations in southern Lebanon in which Israeli troops found themselves in control of the rivers, albeit temporarily, following international pressures on Israel to withdraw.

In previous years Egypt had threatened to go to war with Sudan to prevent Khartoum from trying to mess with the natural course of the Nile River -- the lifeline of Egypt without which the tiny strip of arable land on either bank of the river and its loamy delta would become engulfed by the desert sands.

Similarly, tension between Syria and Turkey rose to near danger levels a few years ago over the distribution of the water of the Euphrates River, which flows through Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

"One critical challenge is water," said the Jordanian monarch. "From the snowy peaks of the Atlas Mountains to the Empty Quarter of the Arab Peninsula, most of our region's countries cannot meet the current water demands.

"As a region, if we do not plan how we will meet this most basic need, if we do not commit the necessary investments to resolve this problem, we will not be fighting for peace, we will be fighting for our lives," said Abdullah. "We need to rise to this challenge."

A witness to the king's testimony over water shortages was only a stone's throw from the convention center and easily visible to anyone who took a few minutes to venture onto the terrace facing the Dead Sea.

The sinking levels of the Dead Sea waters have authorities both in Jordan as well as in Israel seriously worried. The current rate at which the waters are receding is about 1 meter a year. During the 20th century the level of the Dead Sea dropped from about 390 meters below sea level in 1930 to 414 meters below sea level in 1999, with the average rate of fall accelerating in recent years. Today it stands at 418 meters below sea level.

Israel has for a number of years drawn up plans to construct a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea with the aim of raising the water level of the Dead Sea, a project not without controversy.

With a population of 325 million across the Arab world -- and growing fast -- a region made up of 23 countries -- 22 Arab states plus Israel -- indeed, the need for water will only increase in the years to come. "It is larger than Europe, larger than Canada, larger than China and larger that the United States," Abdullah said of the Arab world.

Yet unlike Europe with its abundance of rivers and rainfall, the Middle East is a large region with few water resources and little rain. Some countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have turned to the sea for their freshwater supply. But desalination plants are expensive to build.

Further complicating the problem of water-sharing is the absence of peace in the region. Yet despite the explosive situation permeating the region, with fighting in Gaza, Iraq and Lebanon, the king believes it is important to "begin asking a new question: 'What about the day after peace?'"

"The time has come to stop thinking about peace as an end; an end to conflict, but as a beginning, a beginning of sweeping new opportunities and benefits for the people of this region," said Abdullah. "A region with ample, clean water in every home and a healthy environment that protects its people and its natural heritage."

But despite the king's well-placed optimism, until the day when his vision of a conflict-free Middle East becomes a reality, a lot of water will flow under the bridge. A lot of wasted water.

Email This Article

Related Links
World Economic Forum
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics