ISRAEL-JORDAN ENVIRONMENTAL AND RELATED COOPERATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004853 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV ECON PREL EAID EPET JO IS SUBJECT: ISRAEL-JORDAN ENVIRONMENTAL AND RELATED COOPERATION REF: AMMAN 7727 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection welcomes cooperation and exchange with Jordan's Green Police. The GOI also welcomes the upcoming World Bank feasibility study of the proposed Red Sea-Dead Sea water conveyance project. Two kibbutzim have helped the GOI fulfill treaty obligations with Jordan by starting to treat their sewage before it enters the Jordan River. Israel and Jordan have completed ten years of cooperation in the Gulf of Aqaba with a recent oil spill exercise. They are also working to increase cooperation in flood control north of the Gulf. In addition, there are initiatives in industrial innovation and hi-tech economic development. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) NEA Senior S&T Advisor Charles Lawson visited Israel for a series of meetings with GOI officials and others November 5-8 to discuss issues related to water, environment and regional cooperation. This message reports on related areas of Israeli-Jordanian cooperation. The Director General of the Infrastructure Ministry told Lawson that the GOI is strongly in favor of the World Bank feasibility study for the Red Sea-Dead Sea water conveyance project. Lawson conveyed Government of Jordan interest in developing between Jordanian and Israeli police forces involved in environmental enforcement activities. The Director General of the GOI Ministry of Environmental Protection welcomed the Jordanian interest. MOE will make direct contact with Jordanian counterparts, coordinating with the GOI Ministry of Interior and other government bodies as necessary. ¶3. (SBU) An MFA official responsible for regional water issues told Lawson that two kibbutzim on the Lower Jordan River had recently begun treating their sewage, improving the quality of runoff into the river. The official was not aware of any corresponding recent improvements in sewage treatment on the Jordanian side. Both countries committed to treatment of sewage flowing into the Jordan in the water provisions of their bilateral peace treaty. ¶4. (SBU) At the local level, a senior Israeli environmental attorney in private practice told Lawson that the jurisdictions of Eilat and Aqaba and regional development and drainage authorities are discussing how to improve flood control in the lower Arava Valley. This follows extensive damage on the Israeli side and reports of deaths from flooding on the Jordanian side earlier this year. The two countries' water authorities are becoming engaged on this issue as well. ¶5. (SBU) An official of the Negev and Galilee Development Ministry told Lawson that Shimon Peres is working on development options for the Lower Jordan Valley that would provide jobs in software engineering and other hi-tech enterprises for Jordanians as well as Israelis. The Israeli executive director of the U.S. Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD) met with Lawson to discuss current efforts to carry out a second pilot grant round of the Trilateral Industrial Development (TRIDE) initiative, involving U.S.-Israeli-Jordanian partnerships in industrial innovation. The BIRD director is working with Jordanian counterparts to identify teams of Israeli and Jordanian companies that can then seek American partners to present proposals for TRIDE grants. ¶6. (SBU) Subsequent to Lawson's visit, ESTH Officer participated as an observer November 15 at a joint Israeli-Jordanian oil spill containment and cleanup drill in the Gulf of Aqaba. Both countries have very professional teams at their respective Eilat and Aqaba emergency response centers and each has an officer seconded to the other's center. The Israeli response center is able to provide real-time readings on temperature, wind, and currents - collected by an Israeli maritime institute - to Jordanian counterparts. The two sides now have ten years experience working together in drills and on actual spills. The only glitch in the drill was that the possibly overly cautious GOI MOE security officer did not permit the Israeli participants to visit the Jordanian center for an after-action review, although the Jordanian team had visited the Israeli response center in recent months. Two GOI MOE officials participated in a limited after-action review on a boat on the water on the Jordanian side of the Gulf. ¶7. (U) NEA Senior S&T Advisor Lawson cleared this message. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv TEL AVIV 00004853 002 OF 002 You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES