Sustainable Water Resources Development in the Thirsty Lands: Water Resource Development in the Lowest Place in the World; Jericho

Abstract

Attempts at developing water resources in lands affected by water scarcity in the Middle East have been thousands and have a long history. This study focuses on the sustainable development of water resources in Jericho in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt) where exploding urbanization and extensive use of water is yearly increasing. The degradation of both water quality and quantity in Jericho, which is used to be
the green basket in the region, is increasing every year.
Sustainable water resources’ development, which is based on releasing the stresses on the ground as well as surface waters and on the protection of the environment, is viewed increasingly as mean to protect the existing resources for the incoming generations and to present tangible benefits for policy decision makers. Despite important gaps in information about spatial and temporal characteristics of water and wastewater in Jericho, we
suggest that an integration between water and sanitation systems, based on the reservoir control approach, could achieve sustainability.