The Need for
Focus Group Meetings
Focus Group Meetings (FGMs) are essential
to Ensure the involvement of users and stakeholders, and dissemination
of results to local/regional decision makers and stakeholders (“it is
essential that the process is open to the scrutiny of those who will be
affected"), and to the scientific community. An additional goal is
to increase public awareness and to communicate that there are realistic
options for a more sustainable water management in the Dead Sea Basin.
Users of results (communities, industry, authorities) were invited to
participate in the project through Focus Group Meetings. Two ½-day Focus
Group Meetings were or are to be organized per riparian country. Invited
users will be informed about the status of the project and will be
requested to comment, and define their requirements for information.
FGMs were instrumental in adding
contexture and refining the project
Scenarios. The following
are summaries of FGMs held in Israel, Jordan and Palestine.
Israel
The First
Focus Group Meeting was held with residents and Farmers of the Dead Sea
Basin
in Tamar Regional Council.
Participants:
Yael Maor – Director, Dead Sea
R&D
Dudi Kadosh – Tamar Regional
Council
Arye Shahal – Ein Gedi,
Kibbutz representative from the mineral water factory
Asher Lozun – Neot Hakikar
Udi Isik – Megilot Regional
Council, Education department
Menashke – Kibbutz Almog,
Director (Business manager)
Avi Froind Engineer, Drainage
Authority
David Lehrer – AIES
Vered Balan – AIES
Abstract
The meeting took place at
Tamar regional council. Attendees were representatives of local
settlements, representing private farms, (Neot Hakikar) kibbutzim and
non-farmers. David Lehrer began by presenting the objectives of the
research and of the meetings.
All participants
agreed that there is a shortage of water in the area, both in terms of
quantity as well as quality. The participants also agreed that this
shortage is an obstacle for further development. It was claimed that
there is a potential for more water but production is held back either
due to high costs, low allocation or political reasons. Concerning the
decline in the level of the Dead Sea, it is clear that the solution is
on the national scale and not the municipal level. The participants
related to the damage to the infrastructures due to the sinkholes and
the retreat in the water line. According to some of the speakers, there
is damage to agriculture that is caused by not farming all the land (for
fear of sinkholes), as well as damage to tourism industry that is both
physical as well as physiological. It was agreed that there is a need to
reach a balance between the chemical industry in the Dead Sea and the
threats that industry presents to the rest of the area. This balance
could be reached by creating an engineered solution to the decrease in
the water level at the sea and increase in the evaporation pools (area
of Ein Bokek). In the future, agriculture will become more and
more industrialized and technologically based. The number of farmers
will decrease but each farmer will work larger farms and will specialize
in fields that will follow world trends (European market). The economic
future of the region is dependant on the development of other sources of
income and government investments. Politically, it appears that any
solution to the Palestinian issue presents a threat to the Jewish
settlements on the northwest side of the Dead Sea. Full results of
the First Focus Group Meeting are downloadable (Vered
Balan, 2004).
Abstract
The meeting took place at ECO
Consult Office. Attendees were representatives of scientists from
universities and NGOs.
The participants were e-mailed a very brief explanation about the
project, and about the purpose of the focus groups meeting. At the start
of the actual focus groups meeting, the ECO team presented the project
in general. A brief idea was given about the objectives of the project,
and the different work packages, especially on the scenarios component.
Progress to date was mentioned. The participants were reminded of the
objectives of the focus groups meeting. There was a general
agreement that the Dead Sea area is facing a water shortage problem,
since the Dead Sea is part of a country facing water scarcity as a
whole.There was consensus that Water Resource Management (WRM) needs an
integrated and holistic approach. So regional and national levels affect
each other, it is one big system, integrated holistic approach is called
for. Agreement took place that the consideration of other non
conventional water supplies, reuse of treated waste water and, by
importing water to the area could all be solutions that would help to
alleviate the problem. Improving the efficiency of agriculture will help
in solving the problem. The group believed that there should be
real investment in demand management, educating the public and
especially the new generations about water shortages in the region,
about the future implication of not conserving this resource, and about
methods to conserve it. This should be followed by investment in new
supplies, looking into desalination of brackish groundwater, and
possible desalination from the Red Sea at Aqaba. New supplies could be
in the form of investment in the upgrade of networks. Since about 30-50%
of water is unaccounted for, a priority should be investing in
rehabilitation of water conveyance networks. There was also
consensus by the group about the reuse of treated wastewater, it was
agreed that the reuse of treated wastewater should become a standard
procedure. It was stressed that this requires more than investment; it
needs social work to go hand in hand with investment to spread awareness
to people and farmers about the concept of treated wastewater and about
its potential.
Abstract
The ECO
team presented the project in general and the objective of this
activity, which is gauge the opinions of the farmers regarding the water
issues in the Dead Sea surrounding region. A very brief, non technical,
summary of the project was presented. It was brought up that there are
two additional water resources in the Safi area: ground water that is
not available for the locals as the Potash Company uses it extensively,
and brackish drainage water that is flowing into the Dead Sea. The
farmers suggested the collection and desalination of this brackish water
to be available as an additional source of water in the area. Most
farmers were of the opinion that industry on both the western and
eastern shores of the Dead Sea was to blame for the disappearance of the
Dead Sea. One farmer added that it was the lack of water going into the
Dead Sea (because of dams) was a major cause for the disappearance of
the Sea, as well as the noticeable decrease in the amounts of rainfall
in the area. Farmers were aware of the Red-Dead canal; most of them
showed interest about the concept in general, but it wasn’t clear to
them what benefits could this project give them. Suggestions were made
that it could help in controlling the Dead Sea demise and even recover
its old area 15 years ago which could cover a big area of Safi. Some
farmers expressed their worries that the Red-Dead could cause damage to
their agricultural lands. They are worried especially if the recently
exposed cultivated lands that were covered by the Dead Sea will be
inundated by water coming in from the Red Sea through the canal.
 Top
Kasim Abdo, Ministry
of AgricultureAzzam Tubaileh,
Ministry of AgricultureBader Abu Zahra,
Ministry of Planning Musa Abu Gharbiyeh,
Environmental Quality Authority Zaghloul Samhan,
Environmental Quality AuthorityAiman Jarrar,
Palestinian Water Authority Yousef Awayes,
Palestinian Water AuthorityShaddad Attili,
Negotiations Affair Department Ayman Rabi,
Palestinian Hydrology Group Muath Abu Sadah, House
of Water & Environment Ziad Mimi, Institute
of Water Studies – Birzeit University Thaer Jalloud,
Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees Judeh Jamal ,
Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees Jad Isaac, Applied
Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) Khaldoun Rishmawi,
Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) Abeer Safar , Applied
Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ).
Participants:
Mr. Fadi ‘Bedalla, Mr. Naser Abu Qatam, Mr. ‘Amer Hssain, Mr. Mousa Abu Qatam, Mr. Fasial Saeed, Ms. Myser Solieman, Mr. Mo’waya, Ms. Khatam Solieman, Mr. Mohamed Al- Sheiesh, Mr. Mos’ab Mohammad, Mr. Salah Daraghmeh, Ms. Jane Hilal Applied Research Institute –Jerusalem (ARIJ), Ms. Sandra Ashhab Applied Research Institute –Jerusalem (ARIJ), Mr. Anwar Qabaja Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ)
Abstract:
|
A
Future for The Dead Sea: Options for a More Sustainable Water Management
Threats
