I was invited to participate in two conferences in the Middle East over the past week. The first was sponsored by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) in Amman, Jordan. The focus of the seminar was on the Transboundary Water Planning in the Lower Jordan River Basin. The Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), the Global Nature Fund and SIWI sponsored the seminar to review the initial work of RoyalHaskoningDHV, a Dutch consulting firm to draft the FoEME Master Plan. Chatham House Rule applied, so not much else will be said except that about 100 people were invited from across the world and high level representatives from Israel, Jordan, and Palestine were onhand to participate in presentations and a World Cafe. FoEME shared a newly published document titled "Take Me Over the Jordan - Concept Document to Rehabilitate, Promote Prosperity, and Help Bring Peace to the Lower Jordan River Valley", but it is so new that it has not been posted on their website yet. Check back for this document as it is a summary of the heroic efforts underway in the region.
One of the highlights of the meeting was a song composed and performed by the youth of the Good Water Neighbors Project. Thanks go to Dana Mohammad, Regional Management Coordinator for FoEME, who is also a computer engineer with an MBA in her spare time, for sending me the link to this great video that was shown at both meetings.
What made this conference unique in many respects was the effort at going to the field to see the projects that have been completed by FoEME. Consider the region and it should come as no surprise that border crossings and security made this an extraordinary challenge, but well worth the effort. Again, thanks go to the organizers and the high level dignitaries for taking time from their busy schedules to visit two ecoparks and the proposed Peace Island. The locations are shown on the map. This posting described the Auja ecopark. This blog posting by a FoEME intern does a great job of describing the Sharhabil-Bin Hassan ecopark. Here is some information on the Peace Park that we visited (photos and videos were not allowed due to proximity to Israeli-Jordanian border). Not shown is a new jointly-proposed Israeli-Palestinian ecopark.
For those inclined to *see* things in three dimensions, here is a geologic map and cross section of the area. Note the location of Jericho to get oriented.
The second part of the conference was held in Jericho, Palestine. This is the oldest continously inhabited city in the world, advertised as over 10,000 years old. Approximately 250 people from across the region and globe attended this two day conference celebrating 10 years of the Good Water Neighbors Project. It was reportedly the first large water conference hosted by the Palestinians, and it was first class, being held at the Jericho Intercontinental Hotel.
And the connection to greywater? Well, all of the ecoparks we visited actively reuse greywater. But the real bonus is that the Palestinian Director of FoEME, Mr. Nader Khateb, developed this great greywater manual. The Rainbow Water Coalition was honored to participate in these very important meetings, and to visit the cradle of greywater greatness.
* * *
For Mira:
The qualities I most admire in women are confidence and kindness.
Todd, it was a pleasure to meet you at the conference! I'm glad you had an interesting time, and hope that next time we meet, we might be able to converse in colloquial Jordanian Arabic instead!
This blog was an experiment in social media and networking for a class that I teach in water science and policy. Watch the video in the last posting to learn more about the experiment. You will find more than 300 postings here searchable through the key word search bar. Thanks for reading.
The Peace Flag? The Gay Pride Flag? All good guesses, but no, it is the Cuzco Wiphala which I first observed in 1984 in Cuzco at the Inti Raymi festival. It consists of seven horizontal stripes representing the colors of the rainbow. The significance and meanings for each color are as follows:
Red: The Earth and people
Orange: Society and culture
Yellow: Energy
Green: Natural resources
Light Blue or White: Time
Blue: The heavens
Purple: Self-determination
Colors of Water
Clearwater many times thought to have come from a fresh water spring. Because water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and both elements are invisible gases is a reason why water has crystal clear appearance.Tough to find these days in a natural state. Easy to find in a manufactured state and trapped in a bottle.
Whitewater, historical reference to noncorrupt activities by the Clintons pursued by a former special prosecutor. Sometimes also refers to water with lots of air or dissolved gas.Also connected to rapidly flowing water in rivers where lots of fun can be had in a multitude of floating devices. With incompetence in one arena, and competent treatment in the others, these waters remain harmless.
Greywater or graywater has many different definitions, I guess some could say “quasi conspiratorial” if one considers that graywater is neutral between whitewater and blackwater, but my previous job as a volunteer for the State of Oregon focused on HB 2080 which defines graywater as: “shower and bath waste water, bathroom sink waste water, kitchen sink waste water and laundry waste water. Graywater does not mean toilet or garbage wastes or waste water contaminated with soiled diapers.”No grey area in this definition.
Blackwater has many forms including a name formerly connected to a defense contractor who apparently liked the color of water in the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina. Also a Doobie Brothers song. But in the water world, it is untreated wastewater from both urban domestic use and rural septic tanks. Blackwater also occurs in Australia as organic material, such as leaves and bark, that is washed into the river by a flood thus causing oxygen depletion. It can also be derived from dissolved manganese in groundwater and commonly stains porcelain fixtures.Peaceful means of treatment ultimately prevail against this colored water, but use extreme caution, some variants can be deadly.
Brownwater or the tea-colored water famous in swampy areas along the Mississippi River and Amazon River where rotting vegetation and humic and fulvic acids abound.
Greenwater is precipitation water infiltrated into the soil (so-called ‘‘green water’’) made famous by the grand dame of water mavens Malin Falkinmark of the Stockholm International Water Institute. Also greywater that has been disinfected for later use for irrigation becomes green.
Bluewater is water withdrawn and water consumed (withdrawal minus return flow to the river system) from rivers, lakes and aquifers for the purpose of irrigation.Also found as the water in nuclear power plants where spent rods are stored, but the subject of a different blog (wherever that might be).
Redwater is common when the water purveyor is tinkering with piping network, especially old piping networks, where sediment and rust are stirred up during servicing.Can also be a function of iron bacteria in water.Both sources of redwater are harmless.
Opalescentwater is recycled kitchensink water from the EULO sink invented by the Australians. Not to be confused with Opaline water, a variant of manufactured clearwater by Veolia who also dabbles in water.
Purplewater is sometimes thought derived from Purple Rain popularized by the performer once known as Prince, but now referred to as recycled water from wastewater treatment plants conveyed in purple colored pipes for non-potable uses.
Yellowwater is a variant of yellow snow, derived from “where the huskies go" (homage to Frank Zappa).
Vespawater is a mixture of rainwater with greywater as practiced in Oklahoma and Australia yielding more crop per drop.
$ilverwater is recycled fish hatchery water invented in Washington.
Goldwater is the right drink for the conservative taste.
Todd, it was a pleasure to meet you at the conference! I'm glad you had an interesting time, and hope that next time we meet, we might be able to converse in colloquial Jordanian Arabic instead!
ReplyDelete