The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Environment, Muhammad Khashasnah, said that the environmental situation in the Dead Sea is dangerous, and that its decline threatens the ecosystem, as the salinity level in it is 34%, while the salinity rate in the Red Sea is 3.9%.

Khashashna stressed that the responsible authorities want to stop the depletion or decline of water and its low level in the Dead Sea, and they are also concerned with keeping it alive, and that it must be preserved as a local and global heritage.

And he indicated that the Bahrain Canal is the most important solution to stop the depletion of the Dead Sea, adding that renewable energy is important in any water desalination project and is essential to the Ministry of Environment.

The project manager of the Jordanian National Carrier, Issa Al-War, confirmed that the lack of fresh water flow into the Dead Sea has led to its decline.

Al-War indicated that the government’s priority is to implement the Aqaba water desalination project and transfer it to the rest of the governorates, pointing out that transporting water from Aqaba to the Dead Sea is costly in terms of operational and construction.

He stressed that the government has spared no effort in implementing the Bahrain Canal project, as the implementation of the project was linked to international charters and agreements, adding that the Bahrain Transport Project has a secondary objective to save the Dead Sea.

He said that the strategy of the national carrier project is to stop the water resources that cost the treasury, and that it is not a substitute for the Bahrain carrier, which is a separate project.

“We have a big water problem, and buying water is part of the solution,” says Al-War.

The head of the Dead Sea Friends Association, Saad Abu Hammour, said that the Bahrain Canal project is the only hope for preserving the Dead Sea from receding, as studies have proven that bringing Red Sea water and supplying it to the Dead Sea is environmentally feasible.

He continued, “The national carrier project is a Jordanian option, as the cost of environmental studies for the Red and Dead Bahrain amounted to 30 million dinars.”

He explained that the hypothesis of the drying up of the Dead Sea after 50 years is not true, and that the studies conducted on this are not based on scientific facts.

He indicated that the Dead Sea recedes from 1 m – 1.5 m annually, as it recedes and does not dry out.

Source:

Almamlaka