Israel alive to dangers after water shortage speeds Dead Sea decrease

JERUSALEM－The decreasing water level of the Dead Sea is raising concerns, Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a status report of the country's environment.

The water level of the Dead Sea is decreasing at an average of 1 meter of depth a year, the report said.

It added that although Israel faces other environmental challenges, the situation in the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, is of great concern.

The sharp decrease began in recent decades and is a result of policies undertaken by both Israel and Jordan, who share a border on the salty body of water.

The two countries, facing a continuous water shortage, need to divert the vital commodity from its normal course to the Dead Sea.

"In both places you have (an) increasing population, you have (an) increase in the need of water... (it is) not really a commodity that is available," said Sinaia Netanyahu, chief scientist of the ministry and the author of the report. "As long as water is not going to the Dead Sea, we don't see a solution."

The Dead Sea, which used to be one continuous body, is now dotted with small salt islands.

A Jordanian plan is slated to begin later this year. Named the Red Sea-Dead Sea Conveyance project, its aim is to alleviate the problem by laying a pipeline from the Red Sea that will supply water for areas in need, including the Dead Sea.

It is a controversial plan which has some environmentalists concerned.

For Netanyahu, there is a more realistic goal, which is acknowledging that these negative changes are here to stay and work around them, trying to leverage what may currently be seen as disadvantages and turning things around.

There are about 6,000 sinkholes around the Dead Sea and they are causing grave danger. Several areas have been sealed and entering them is forbidden.

The sinkholes are a direct result of the drying up of the Dead Sea, which has created a vacuum underground that eventually causes the earth to cave in.

But the main cause for the negative developments is climate change. As the planet is getting warmer and weather patterns are changing, the Dead Sea is paying a heavy price.

"Climate change is here and we are going to have less water. We have to acknowledge that," said Netanyahu.

Xinhua