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Source: http://jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=Israel%2C+Jordan+to+help+Dead+Sea&intcategoryid=1
Israel, Jordan Join to Save the Dead Sea
(JTA) Michael Belling - Israel and Jordan have announced a collaborative venture to save the Dead Sea at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development: a canal to divert water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The level of the Dead Sea is dropping by over three feet a year. “This is a natural disaster in the making and we will be criminals if we ignore it and watch the Dead Sea disappearing before our eyes,” said Jordan’s planning minister, Bassem Awadallah. Stabilizing the water level would help maintain the heritage value of the Dead Sea, which has archeological, tourism, ecological, historical, and cultural value. Initial investigations by a special binational technical task team have so far not shown any real environmental obstacles to the plan. Funding for the plan, which could cost up to $1 billion, would come from the World Bank.