Ripple Effects: Sharing Water and Building Peace in the Jordan River Valley

Dec 18, 2017 | Julianne Liebenguth
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In the war-torn Jordan River Valley, we can meet the “strategic objective of reducing conflict by promoting cooperation on shared waters,” said former defense official Sherri Goodman at a recent Wilson Center event on environmental peacebuilding. Even in the midst of political disputes, Jordanians, Israelis, and Palestinians must work together to manage the scarce supplies of clean water to protect their health, their economies, and their security. This cooperation—if properly supported and leveraged—could have ripple effects for broader peace efforts. By generating political support for transboundary cooperation, pioneering and award-winning NGO EcoPeace Middle East seeks to build a lasting peace in the region.