Management of Shared Groundwater Resources The Israeli-Palestinian Case with an International Perspective

About this book

Most of the world's freshwater resources in the liquid state (i.e. not in glaciers and polar caps) are underground. As the population grows and demand for water rises, reliance on groundwater increases. In many cases the groundwater underlies boundaries, or is part of a hydraulic system that crosses boundaries. In such cases there is always the danger that the 'prisoner's dilemma' will run its course and all parties will compete over who will pump the most water, ultimately destroying the storage potential to the detriment of future generations of all parties reliant on the groundwater. This book explores the options and means for averting this all too realistic scenario by managing these shared groundwater resources.
Nowhere is the likelihood of excessive use of groundwater greater than in the water-scarce Middle East, and especially in the Israeli-Palestinian case. Here both sides are heavily reliant on a shared aquifer, the Mountain aquifer. This book is the outcome of a seven-year effort to find ways to manage the Mountain aquifer, perhaps the most important resource shared by Israelis and Palestinians. As part of this cooperative study, four workshops were held in which a selected number of Palestinian, Israeli, and foreign experts were invited. The chapters in this book were originally presented in one of these workshops. To these papers introductory and concluding chapters were added.

Contents

Preface. Introduction; E. Feitelson, M. Haddad. Part I: The Problems and Approaches to Groundwater Management. The Management of Shared Aquifers; M. Haddad, et al. The Islamic Approach to the Environment and Sustainable Groundwater Management; M. Haddad. Part II: The Israeli-Palestinian Case. Overview of the Mountain Aquifer; Y. Harpaz, et al. Water Resource Management in Israel; S. Arlosoroff. The Need for Joint Management and Monitoring of the Water `Usage' Cycle; K. Assaf. The Turonian-Cenomanian Aquifer; Y. Kahane. Legal and Administrative Responsibility of Domestic Water Supply to the Palestinians; T. Nassereddin. Israeli-Palestinian Bargaining over the Mountain Aquifer; S. Netanyahu, et al. Part III: International Experience in Cross-Boundary Management and Allocation of Water Resources. From Rights to Needs; A.T. Wolf. Institutional Cooperation on Groundwater Issues; C. De Villeneuve. Centralized vs. Decentralized Approaches to Groundwater Management and Allocation in the Context of Overdevelopment; G.A. Thomas. The Evolving International Law of Transnational Aquifers; J.W. Dellapenna. Water Rights; M. Solanes. Droughts, Crisis Management and Water Rights; A. Dinar. Part IV: Monitoring, Modeling and Data Compilation as Prerequisites for Groundwater Management. From Monitoring and Modeling to Decision Support Frameworks for the Joint Management of Shared Aquifers; J.A.M. van der Gun. Hydrological Planning Aspects of Groundwater Allocation; Y. Harpaz. The Potential of GIS in Water Management and Conflict Resolution; J. Isaac, M. Owewi. Part V: Issues and Innovative Options for Groundwater Management and Allocation. The Use of Economic Instruments for Efficient Water Use; S. Lonergan. Water Markets, Water Rights and Strategies for Decentralizing Water Management; K.W. Easter, R. Hearne. Water Demand Management; D.B. Brooks. Water Rights within a Water Cycle Framework; E. Feitelson. The Legal Framework of Joint Management Institutions for Transboundary Water Resources; E. Benvenisti. Crisis Management; I. Najjar. Land Use Management in the Context of Joint Management of Shared Aquifers; N. Mizyed. Part IV: An Action Plan for the Management of Shared Groundwater Resources. A Sequential Flexible Approach to the Management of Shared Aquifers; E. Feitelson, M. Haddad. A Proposed Agenda for Joint Israeli-Palestinian Management of Shared Groundwater; M. Haddad, et al. List of Contributors.

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