Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-08-Speech-3-326"
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"en.20100908.16.3-326"2
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"Mr President, as has been said, the situation concerning the Dead Sea and the Jordan River is extremely worrying since it is predicted that, if nothing changes in 2011, the river will simply run dry.
If no action is taken at international and at regional level to put a stop to this development, the situation will result in an extraordinarily important loss for cultural heritage, for biodiversity – Mrs Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou mentioned this point – and also for the security and the economy of the region.
I would like to bring to your attention an NGO which has taken what I consider to be an absolutely remarkable initiative. This NGO, Friends of the Earth Middle East, has decided to bring together the Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli mayors who live along the river, to rally them and encourage them to think about what they could do to improve matters somewhat.
The association and the mayors have carried out some interesting studies concerning the measures that each country could take and the impact those measures would have. They range from waterless toilets to changes in agricultural methods, to changes in the types of crops grown because they absorb too much water, and so on. There is a wide range of measures that can be taken. So this is not a political debate, even though we are well aware that, as soon as we talk about water in the region, things become political.
I believe that everyone could support that, and I would like Europe and the Commission to take inspiration from the very clear conclusions of this report in the relations they have with these countries, particularly through the action plans.
However, there is one short paragraph that I set great store by – paragraph E – which says that there is overexploitation of water by the Israeli settlers. This is true; it has been confirmed by reports by the World Bank and by Amnesty International. It takes us back to the heart of politics, but it is a truth that must sometimes be told. We have not placed it at the heart of the resolution but we do set great store by it."@en1
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