Developing Water and Marginalising Israel/Palestinian Peace: A Critical Examination of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal Feasibility Study Process

Abstract

Efforts to ‘save’ the Dead Sea have been globalised through the Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal feasibility study process facilitated by the World Bank. In claiming a ‘peace dividend’ as one ‘intangible benefit’ of programme development and problem solving, the canal initiative has established the relevance of peace discourse as a basis for critiquing the process. This article critically examines phase one of the feasibility study process and its implications for regional peacebuilding in the light of a claimed ‘peace dividend’, assessing the practices of regional integration, knowledge construction and stakeholder participation.¹

References

Abitbol

(2006). Giving the Dead Sea a New Life: Have All Options Been Responsibly Considered?. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 3, 1.

Abitbol

Schoenfeld

Constructing an Adaptive Regional Vision of Water Development in the Jordan River Basin. The Jordan River and Dead Sea Basin: Cooperation Amid Conflict - Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Water Resources and Infrastructure in Areas of Conflict and Extreme Conditions Sandler

Lipchin

Berlin: Springerforthcoming.

Adler

(2005). Communitarian International Relations: The Epistemic Foundations of International Relations London: Routledge.

Allan

(2002). Hydro-Peace in the Middle East: Why no Water Wars? A Case Study of the Jordan River Basin. SAIS Review XXII, 2 255–272.

Assaf

(2004). Joint Projects and Programmes Promoting Middle East Cooperation and Knowledge in the Water Sector. Second Israeli-Palestinian International Conference - Water for Life in the Middle East Shuval

Dwiek

Antalya, Turkey: Israel/Palestine Centre for Research and Information.

Asmar

(2003). The Science and Politics of the Dead Sea: Red Sea Canal or Pipeline?. Journal of Environment and Development 12, 3 325–339.

Azar

(1986). Protracted International Conflicts: Ten Propositions. International Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice Azar

Burton

Brighton: Wheatsheaf.

Banks

(1987). Four Conceptions of Peace. Conflict Management and Problem Solving: Interpersonal to International Applications Sandole

Sandole

New York: New York University Press.

Ben-Porat

(2006). Global Liberalism, Local Populism: Peace and Conflict in Israel/Palestine and Northern Ireland Syracuse NY: Syracuse University Press.

10.

Bernard

(2000). Participatory Research as Emancipatory Method: Challenges and Opportunities. Research Training for Social Scientists Burton

London: Sage Publications.

11.

Burton

(1990). Conflict: Human Needs Theory Basingstoke: Macmillan.

12.

Cockell

John G.

(2003). Early Warning Analysis and Policy Planning in UN Preventive Action. Conflict Prevention: Path to Peace or Grand Illusion? Carment

Tokyo: United Nations University.

13.

Human Security: Linking Development and Security in an Age of Terror

11th general conference of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes Bonn September 2005 21–24paper prepared for ‘New Interfaces between Security and Development

14.

Ehrenfeld

(2005). The Environmental Limits to Globalisation. Conservation Biology 19, 2 318–326.

15.

ERM (Environmental Resources Management) (2008a)., ‘Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study, Environmental and Social Assessment, Inception Report’, revised, September; 2008b, ‘Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study, Environmental and Social Assessment, Public Consultation and Communications Plan’, September; 2008c, ‘Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study, Environmental and Social Assessment, Preliminary Scoping Report’, December; all available at www.erm.com/erm/main.nsf/pages/homepage?opendocument.

16.

Fischhendler

(2007). Institutional Conditions for IWRM: The Israeli Case. Ground Water December 46, 1 91–102.

17.

FOEME (Friends of the Earth Middle East) (2008)., website available at www.foeme.org/docs/FoEME_Comments_to_WB_Public_Hearing_August_2008.pdf, accessed 29 September, and http://www.foeme.org/projects.php?ind=21 accessed 12 August.

18.

Francis

(2006). Linking Peace, Security and Developmental Regionalism: Regional Economic And Security Integration in Africa. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 2, 3.

19.

Gillies

Alldred

(2002). The Ethics of Intention: Research as a Political Tool. Ethics in Qualitative Research Mauthner

Birch

Jessop

Miller

London: Sage Publications.

20.

Goldman

(2001a). Constructing an Environmental State: Eco-governmentality and Other Transnational Practices of a “Green’ World Bank”. Social Problems 48, 4 499–5232001b, ‘The Birth of a Discipline: Producing Authoritative Green Knowledge, World Bank-Style’ in Ethnography 2:2:191–217.

21.

Gray

Hilal

(2007). Water and Security for Palestine. Integrated Water Resources Management and Security in the Middle East Lipchin

Pallant

Saranga

Amster

Dordrecht: Springer, with NATO public diplomacy division.

22.

Green Prophet (2009)., ‘Jordan to Launch Red-Dead Canal without Israel’; available at http://greenprophet.com/2009/05/19/9077/jordan-red-sea-dead-sea-canal/ accessed on 19 May.

23.

GWP (Global Water Partnership) (2009)., website available at www.gwpforum.org/servlet/PSP, accessed 10 June 2009.

24.

Haaretz (2008)., ‘Billionaire Yotzhak Tshuva Unveils Detailed Plans for Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal’; available at http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/983954.html, accessed on 11 May 2009.

25.

Halabi

Sonnenschein

(2000). Awareness, Identity and Reality: The School for Peace Approach. Israeli and Palestinian Identities in Dialogue Halabi

New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

26.

Helleiner

G. K.

(2001). Markets, Politics, and Globalisation: Can the Global Economy be Civilized?. Global Governance 7, 243–263.

27.

Homer-Dixon

(1999). Environment, Scarcity, and Violence Princeton: Princeton University Press.

28.

IRC (International Water and Sanitation Centre) (2009)., website; available at www.irc.nl/page/10436, accessed 21 May.

29.

IWRM (Integrated Water Resources Management) (2009)., website available at www.iwrm.org/index.php?page=mypage&iId=8, accessed 21 May 2009.

30.

Jordan Times (2009a)., ‘The Red Sea Might Save the Dead Sea’, 22 March; available at www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=15231, accessed 12 May; 2009b ‘Israel grab threatens RedDead Water Conveyance Project - Palestinians, 9 July; available at http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=18260, accessed 10 August.

31.

Kates

Parris

Laseroweitz

(2005). What is sustainable development? Goals, Indicators, Values and Practice. Environment April 47, 3 8–21.

32.

Khalidi

(1997). Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness New York: Columbia University Press.

33.

Kramer

(2008)., ‘Regional Water Cooperation and Peacebuilding in the Middle East’, Adelphi Research, Initiative for Peacebuilding - Regional Cooperation on Environment, Economy and Natural Resource Management Cluster; available at http://www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu/pdf/Regional_Water_Cooperation_and_Peacebuilding_in_the_Middle_East.pdf, accessed on 10 August 2009.

34.

Lederach

(2005). The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace Oxford: OUP.

35.

Lipchin

(2006). A Future for the Dead Sea Basin: Water Culture among Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians working paper (Nota Di Lavora) 115.2006 33.

36.

Matrix of Comments (2007)., ‘Terms of Reference for the Feasibility Study and Environmental and Social Assessment, Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Programme’, 5 December; available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMENA/Resources/Stakeholder_Comment_Response_Matrix_05_December_2007.pdf, accessed 20 May 2009; 2008, ‘Comments and Responses: Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Programme, July public meetings in Amman, Ramallah & Herzelieh, July & November; available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTREDSEADEADSEA/Resources/RDS_July2008_Comments.pdf, accessed 20 May 2009.

37.

Mikkelsen

(2005). Methods for Development Work and Research: A New Guide for Practitioners London: Sage Publications.

38.

Mollinga

(2008). Water, Politics and Development: Framing a Political Sociology of Water Resources Management. Water Alternatives 1, 1 7–23.

39.

Prugh

Assadourian

(2003). What Is Sustainability, Anyway?. World Watch Magazine September/October.

40.

Raz

(2003)., interview 8 December, Kibbutz Ein Gedi, Israel.

41.

Rifkind

(2008). The Arab Peace Initiative: Why Now? One Year on from Annapolis - The Need for a Regional Frame for Negotiations. London: Oxford Research Group.

42.

Rogers

(2006). The Real River Management Challenge: Integrating Scientists, Stakeholders and Service Agencies. River Research and Applications 22, 2 269–280.

43.

Rothman

Olson

(2001). From Interests to Identities: Towards a New Emphasis in Interactive Conflict Resolution. Journal of Peace Research 38, 3 289–305.

44.

Schoenfeld

Abitbol

De Châtel

(2007). Retelling the Story of Water in the Middle East: Reflections On and About a Conversation at the Dead Sea. Integrated Water Resources Management and Security in the Middle East Lipchin

Pallant

Saranga

Amster

Dordrecht: Springer, with NATO public diplomacy division.

45.

Sheedy

(2008). Handbook on Citizen Engagement: Beyond Consultation Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks.

46.

Tandon

(2004). Economic Policy and Conflict in Africa. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 2, 1 6–20.

47.

ToR (Terms of Reference, Red Sea-Dead-Sea Canal Project) (2005).; available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/MENAEXT/Resources/RDS-TOR-18_July2007.pdf?resourceurlname=RDS-TOR-18_July2007.pdf, accessed 3 October 2008.

48.

Trottier

(2007). A Wall, Water and Power: The Israeli ‘Separation Fence’. Review of International Studies 33, 105–127.

49.

UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Human Development Report 2006: Beyond Scarcity - Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis 2006available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2006/.

50.

Uvin

(2002). The Development/Peacebuilding Nexus: A Typology and History of Changing Paradigms. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 1, 1 5–24.

51.

World Bank Assessment of Restrictions on Palestinian Water Sector Development: West Bank and Gaza - Middle East and North Africa Region Sustainable Development Washington, DC: World Bank 2009.