SECOND ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

“WATER FOR LIFE IN THE MIDDLE EAST”

October 9 (evening) to October 12^th, 2004

Rome, Italy

SPONSORED BY

IPCRI

ISRAEL /PALESTINE CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND INFORMATION

Together with

THE INTERNATIONAL WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION–IWRA

Co-sponsored by

UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT- USAID

THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ROME

UNESCO

THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WATER LAW (AIDA)(provisional)

Conference Objectives:

1. To provide an on-going forum for fruitful dialogue, development of mutual understanding and mutual respect between Israeli, Palestinian and other Middle Eastern and international water specialists. The conference aims to present subjects of interest for water scientists, engineers, economists, lawyers, administrators, managers and policy makers. The goal is to provide a basis for improved cooperation between the peoples of the region and the international community in developing, managing and protecting their scarce shared water resources and for the promotion of “Water for Life” for the benefit of all the nations of the region.

2. To provide a follow-up some twelve years after the First Israeli-Palestinian International Academic Conference on Water held in Zurich, Switzerland December 10-13, 1992 for the purposes of evaluating developments relating to water resources in the Middle East since that historic conference.

3. To hear up-to-date scientific and technical papers and reports on recent developments related to the water resources technology and management with particular reference to the Middle East with specific emphasis on Israeli and Palestinian issues.

4. To hold discussions, dialogs and workshops with the participation of both academic water specialists and representatives of the water authorities of the countries of the region and international community on specific issues dealing with improving cooperation on water resources development and of meeting the needs of the peoples of the region.

We plan that this conference, to be held in an era when there are renewed hopes for progress in the peace process, to be even more significant than the first conference held in Switzerland some 12 years ago. For this purpose, special attention will be given to the inclusion of authoritative speakers dealing with the scientific, technical, economic, legal and policy aspect of promoting “Water for Life” among the partners of the shared water resources on the region. The program will host distinguished guests from around the world whose expertise is particularly relevant to the provision of “Water for Life” in the region.

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Authors interested in submitting papers for oral or poster presentation should submit an abstract of about 300-400 words or no more than one page in length by February 15^th 2004. Abstract should be submitted by to the Conference Secretariat (provisional email robin@ipcri.org) in MS Word – Times New Roman 12 points.

There are two options available to those who wish to submit papers. Papers for oral presentation of twenty minutes with five minutes for discussion in one of the appropriate parallel sessions in the conference program or posters presentations during the special time periods allocated for poster presentations. In both cases the authors must submit an abstract noting which conference topic the paper refers to and specifying whether it is for oral presentation or for a poster. Palestinian and Israeli authors of accepted papers will receive basic financial support. Some limited support will be available for others depending on the extent of outside funding.

The main conference topics will include:

A- Geopolitical, Legal and Cultural issues relating to the Water Resources of the Region:

• The Geopolitical Aspects of Israeli/Palestinian Water Issues
• The Role of International Agencies and NGO's
• Water Resources Potential of the Countries of the Region
• Legal Aspects of Resolving Water Conflicts in the Middle East.
• Regional Water Import Projects, the Building of New Canals, etc.
• Water Aspects of Regional and Local Planning to meet the needs of Population Growth
• Conflict and Cooperation Models
• Regional Cooperation on the Development of Water Resources
• The Culture of Water in the Middle East

B- Management and Development of Water Resources

• Development of Alternative Water Resources
• Economic and Legal Aspects of Water Resources
• Water Allocations to various sectors-Urban/Industry/Agriculture/Ecology and Nature
• Management of Water Resources
• Social and Economic Basis of Financing Water Development
• Non-conventional Water Resources in the Middle East - Desalination, Wastewater Reuse, Rainfall Enhancement, Evaporation Reduction, Conservation etc.
• Economic Value of Water for the Urban, Agricultural, & Industrial Sectors.
• Social and Economic Basis of Financing Water Development
• Water Pricing and the Role of Subsidies in various sectors

C- Water Science, Technology and Quality Assurance appropriate for the Middle East

• Assuring Water Quality and Protecting Shared Water Resources from Pollution

• The Development of Water Supply and Sanitation for Villages and Small Communities.
• Geo-hydrological, Hydrological and Basic Water Science Relevant to the Middle East
• Educational Programs for the development of Water Management Personnel and Water Awareness
• Impact of Global Warming
• New Methods of Water and Wastewater Treatment appropriate for the Region

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Rome in October 2004.

For further information contact IPCRI Water Conference – ipcri@ipcri.org

Professor Hassan Dwiek Professor Hillel Shuval

Al Quds University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Conference Co-Chair Conference Co-Chair

Email: hdweik@planet.edu Email: hshuval@vms.huji.ac.il