BOLSTERING SUPPORT FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE THROUGH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 002302

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA 3 AND 13 CONTENT)

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA, EEB AND OES
STATE PASS TO OPIC
STATE SEMEP FOR ALON SACHAR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2019
TAGS: ECON ENRG PGOV PREL SENV KWBG JO IS
SUBJECT: BOLSTERING SUPPORT FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE THROUGH
REGIONAL ESTH ENGAGEMENT

REF: A. A. AMMAN 1690

B. B. AMMAN 1394

C. C. TUNIS 757

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Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)


1. (C) Key Points:

-- A variety of regional ESTH initiatives have encouraged
support for Middle East peace by developing Arab-Israeli
working relationships, increasing regional technical and
research capacity, and directly improving the lives of
citizens.

-- These collaborations can be augmented at this critical
juncture to further help advance regional peace efforts.

-- In renewable energy, developing pilot installations in
Jordan and the West Bank with USG support through grants,
loan financing, and political clout could yield important
demonstration projects and help exploit the area's renewable
energy potential. These might also slow-down the nuclear
energy bandwagon in the region.

-- ESTH engagement might offer a low-risk opportunity to
integrate Syria into a cooperative regional framework. Syria
could be invited to a planned Middle East peace related
environmental capacity building program for Israel, Jordan,
and the PA, to be held in Jordan. If this overture is
well-received, it could be a positive first step.

-- This message includes an action request, please see
paragraph 14.

Manifold ESTH Initiatives Supporting Peace Efforts
-------------- --------------


2. (C) A variety of regional ESTH initiatives have been
supporting Middle East peace efforts since the 1990's - water
management training, environmental defense, cancer
registries, scientific research are just a few of the
domains. Without the high visibility or the keen urgency of
the political process, and often functioning quietly away
from the public eye, ESTH engagement has continued to foster
Arab-Israeli collaborative projects for many years. As one
would expect, some have been more successful than others,
particularly those that address common problems, pursue
practical solutions, and build mutual confidence. They have
created strong and lasting, working relationships between the
governments at the technical levels, and in many cases also
improved the quality of life of the citizens of the region.
Cooperation Leads to Strong Outcomes
--------------

3.(C) The EXACT regional water databanks program is an
example of U.S.-facilitated collaboration that has
continued to convene Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian water
officials regularly and almost without interruption since
1995 - under the framework of the Oslo Accords. While the
U.S. and other donors have supported a variety of successful
technical projects and training over the years, the value of
the working relationships developed through these programs
outweighs even the positive technical results. Ali Subah, a
longtime Jordanian EXACT representative recently told ESTHOff
that it was because of the strong relationships developed
through the EXACT framework that Israel provided Jordan with
an 11 million cubic meter (MCM) water loan during the summer
2008 draught. He noted, "during our discussions, the
Israelis whom we have known for a long time asked us how much
water we needed. We said 11 MCM - and they said "okay." It
is because we have been working together for so long."
During that particular
ly stressful draught, the Jordanian Water Minister told
Emboffs "Israel saved my skin."


4. (C) The Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) program
which has funded grants for Arab and Israeli scientists to
collaborate on a variety of topics relevant to regional
economic development has also resulted in many tangible

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project outcomes and strong working relationships - while
also benefiting the USG. During a July 2009 ESTH Hub visit
to Tunisia, it was difficult to obtain meetings with
Government of Tunisia representatives (ref C),but not with
the Pasteur Institute (a renowned semi-governmental
institution) and the recipient of a new MERC grant to
collaborate with Israeli and Palestinian scientists.
(Comment: Given the clear successes in building sustainable
regional ties, ESTH engagement in support of the President's
efforts to achieve Middle East peace should be sustained and
even augmented to include a greater spectrum of Arab
participation. End comment.)

Looking Ahead: Renewable Energy Potential
--------------


5. (C) Israel is expected to establish feed-in tariffs for
renewable energy (RE) shortly, a critical step on the wide-
scale deployment of solar energy projects. Many Israeli
solar power company start-ups such as Arava Power (expecting
to deploy a 5MW photovoltaic system by May 2010) have a
desire to engage in regional renewable energy projects with
their Palestinian and Jordanian neighbors. This desire
emanates not only from commercial ambition and hope to
improve Israel's relationships with its neighbors, but also
to get around the restrictive land-use rights situation in
Israel. It is unlikely that Israel will be connected to the
Jordanian (and by extension the Middle Eastern) grid in the
near future. However, RE projects in Jordan capitalizing on
cheap land availability could in theory be connected by
special purpose cables to export power to Israel. One
entrepreneur stated to ESTHOffs that Jordan has a comparative
advantage in solar power and should become a power exporter
(ref A).


6. (C) Another reason for the Israeli desire to promote
regional RE projects is to reduce the likelihood of Jordanian
nuclear energy plants coming to fruition (ref B). The Chief
Scientist of the Ministry of National Infrastructure voiced
his fears about the potential catastrophic effects of a
Jordanian nuclear plant being placed in the seismic-prone
area of Aqaba. Yosef Abromovitz, CEO of Arava Power was more
blunt, saying that placing a nuclear plant in the region was
likely to increase the chances of terrorist strikes and other
disasters throughout the region. Furthermore, RE supporters
contend that in the 10-15 years it would take for any
Jordanian nuclear plants to become operational, solar power
would have easily achieved grid parity and have become even
more economical and safe than nuclear power.


7. (C) Suggestions from Israeli interlocutors for the USG to
foster increased regional RE projects include:

--Provide grants to allow pilot RE projects to be deployed in
Jordan and Palestine. According to Arava, a 20 percent down
payment needed for a 5MW plant would equate to $6 million
which the USG could support through a grant.

--Provide loan guarantees or other financing support for RE
Pilots through OPIC, Exim Bank, or other financing mechanisms.

--Resuscitate the Jordan-Israel energy working group that was
formed in the mid-1990s and had developed detailed plans for
deploying solar farms in Jordan.

-- Use USG influence, political clout, and financing support
to create the political will to establish regional RE
projects.

Product Development and Bio-Fuels Collaboration:
-------------- ---


8. (SBU) A recently announced venture, MME New Diesel between
an Israeli company and the Jordanian National Energy Research
Center, has been making the news as it hopes to develop
second-generation biofuels from agricultural waste using
German technology. Originally facilitated by the Peres
Center for Peace, the venture is now being considered for
product development funding support by the USG supported
Trilateral Industrial Development Fund (TRIDE). TRIDE aims

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to serve as a catalyst for joint R&D and product development
between Israeli, Jordanian, and American companies and
cost-shares up to 50 percent with companies to the point of
commercial readiness. Recently, the TRIDE fund has suffered
from modest resources. The TRIDE Executive Director is
seeking continued USG support for one-third of a new $2
million funding round, which according to him has financial
commitments from Israel and Jordan. Targeted USG funding for
specific RE or the proposed bio-fuels collaboration could
also provide a boost to regional energy projects.

Environment - the first Peace Park?
--------------


9. (SBU) Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) is a
dynamic regional environmental NGO working in Israel, Jordan,
and Palestine. FoEME is well known to the USG and benefits
from a variety of USG grants. FoEME has many ambitious and
laudable projects on-going to support Middle East peace - and
is well recognized for these efforts, including through
receiving Time magazine's "Environmental Heroes of 2008"
award and hosting former President Carter and Bishop Desmond
Tutu under the Elders framework.


10. (SBU) One of FoEME's current projects is the
establishment of a eco-tourism "Peace Park" between the core
parties near the confluence of the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers.
This site brings history, potential cooperation, and strong
symbolism. FoEME already has several grants from European
sources to assist with rehabilitating this largely abandoned
park and plans to start bringing German eco-tourists from the
Israeli side. Jordanian access to the park is tightly
controlled by its military, however, and will need very high
level political buy-in including the King's blessing. FoEME
is pushing hard for this through its many contacts and claims
that the Jordanian Prime Minister, Minister of Environment,
and the Mayors of the local communities are also supportive
of the park. FoEME has suggested that USG support (political
and/or financial) for creating such a "Peace Park" would be a
great symbol for any lasting peace process outcome.

Regional Efforts: To Include Syria or Not?
--------------


11. (C) Amman ESTH Hub has noted increased track II science
diplomacy efforts underway recently with Syria: a ten-person
U.S. delegation, including the American Association for
Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Academies of
Science, visited Syria in early 2009 and also met with
President Assad as part of a high-level dialogue on Science,
Health and Higher Education. As a follow up, AAAS held a
March 2009 conference on U.S.-Syria Science Collaboration in
Washington. Looking ahead, the Civilian Research Development
Foundation is partnering with ICARDA and the University of
Damascus in planning a workshop on Water and Agriculture in
November 2009. These track II engagements are helping build
mutual confidence and maintain a dialogue with Syria. USG
support for these interactions would benefit the
strengthening of regional ties and give the U.S. additional
tools with which to engage Syrians.


12. (SBU) Recent interactions with Syrian environmental NGOs
have indicated a desire for increased U.S. support to improve
environmental management in Syria. There has been increased
Syrian - USG technical engagement through the CDC to help
Syria establish an epidemiology center. These fledgling
interactions hold the promise of bolstering the bilateral
relationship. ESTH engagements on a parallel multilateral
level could also be a vehicle to draw Syria back into a
regional framework to support peace efforts.


13. (C) One potential vehicle for this could be the
NEA's ongoing multilateral programs, which supported the
Multilateral Water and Environmental Working Groups. Neither
working group has convened for many years, but the U.S. has
continued to support multilateral capacity building under their
auspices on a regular basis (an air pollution workshop
for Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian officials was held
in Istanbul in August 2008). The U.S. plans to hold
a multilateral environmental

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capacity-building workshop in Jordan in late 2009 or early
2010 on Land Reclamation and Desertification for Jordanian,
Palestinian, and Israeli participants. With the concurrence
of those beneficiary parties, we could extend an invitation
to the Government of Syria environmental authorities and some
of the environmental NGOs. If Syria does attend the
workshop, we would be helping them in strengthening
environmental capacity in a much-needed non-political arena,
while supporting our efforts to draw them
into greater regional engagement with their neighbors.


14. (C) Action request: Post requests the Department's
guidance on the issue of including Syrian participation in
the capacity-building workshop in Jordan on Land Reclamation
and Desertification to be held in late 2009 or early 2010.
End action request.


15. (U) This message has been cleared by, and includes input
from, Embassy Tel Aviv.

Visit Amman's Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman
Beecroft