ABSTRACT
Israel transfers water from the Jordan basin via the National Water Carrier to western portions of the country. Israel is already using 95 percent of its renewable resources and consumes five times more water per capita than do its neighbors. For Jordan, Syrian diversion of the Yarmuk could mean the loss of significant amounts of water. Jordan is expending most of its share of the Yarmuk waters for agriculture in the Jordan Valley. Yarmuk water is also pumped through pipelines to upland urban centers such as Irbid and Amman for municipal and industrial purposes. The water situation in the Gaza Strip has been described as a “time bomb waiting to explode.” The longest river in the world, the Nile and its headwaters flow through nine African states: Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Zaire, Rwanda, and Burundi. The Nile basin covers approximately one-tenth of the African continent. Improved pollution control and water treatment processes will also help safeguard water quality.
