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Crossing the Jordan Exhibition Catalogue

EcoPeace Middle East, Global Nature Fund (GNF) and photographers Paolo Pellegrin

and Eddie Gerald are pleased to announce the Crossing the Jordan River Exhibition.

The exhibition brings together a series of stark images of the Jordan Valley,

highlighting its beauty, its heritage and its role in today’s conflict, contrasting the

River’s current deteriorating situation with the magnificence of the landscape.

Over the last three years this exhibition was displayed in locations across Europe, the

US and the Middle East to raise awareness about the critical state of the Lower

Jordan River.

If you are interested in hosting this exhibition please contact

Mira Edelstein, EcoPeace's Jordan River Rehabilitation Project Coordinator at

mira@foeme.org

To learn more about the critical state of the Lower Jordan River please visit:

www.foeme.org.

EcoPeace Middle East's Jordan River Rehabilitation Project is supported today

by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and the

Osprey Foundation.

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Exhibition Catalog

A. Photography by Paolo Pellegrin

Bearing the burdens of a dry land, the Jordan south of the Sea of Galilee is mostly saline

water and liquid waste, its fresh waters pumped out upstream for farming and daily use.

(National Geographic, Parting the Waters, April 2010)

A source of friction between Israelis and Palestinians, water is emblematic of their unequal

relationship. Palestinians, restricted to shallow wells by Israel’s occupation, buy West Bank

groundwater from Israel with European Union aid. (National Geographic, Parting the Waters,

April 2010)

To supplement their one-day-a-week summer water ration, residents of Amman, Jordan's

capital, maintain rooftop reservoirs, filling the aluminum tanks with water purchased from a

tanker truck. (National Geographic, Parting the Waters, April 2010)

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Tempers flare near Auja when a conversation between Israeli settlers and a local Palestinian

turns to ownership of land—and water. Fed by a natural spring, Auja's only water channel for

farming runs dry every summer. (National Geographic, Parting the Waters, April 2010)

Braving polluted waters, pilgrims from Russia seek a spiritual awakening near Jesus' baptism

site in the lower Jordan River. Patrolled by Israel and Jordan, the river here defines the border

between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. (National Geographic, Parting the

Waters, April 2010)

The Jordanian desert south of the Dead Sea shows the effects of a falling water table, which

destroys salt deposits beneath the surface, creating sinkholes and making the area unsafe for

development. Since the Dead Sea began dropping rapidly in the late 1970s, more than 3,000

of these sinkholes have appeared in Israel and Jordan. (National Geographic, Parting the

Waters, April 2010)

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Floating on dreams and whispers, girls from a West Bank village cool off in the salt-laden

waters of the Dead Sea. With its main tributary, the Jordan, at less than a tenth of its former

volume, the inland sea has dropped some 70 feet since 1978. (National Geographic, Parting

the Waters, April 2010)

B. Photography by Eddie Gerald:

Unique in its natural and cultural wealth, the Jordan River is presently threatened by

excessive water diversion, pollution and inappropriate development.

Sites of natural and cultural heritage are found on both sides of the valley and justify the

valley being described as a cultural landscape of outstanding universal value.

As the Dead Sea's primary fresh water input, the diversion of the Lower Jordan River is the

primary reason that the Dead Sea is dropping one meter ever year with drastic consequences

for its environment, the area communities and their economies.

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Of the 1.3 billion cubic meters of water annually that would naturally flow down the River

Jordan to the Dead Sea, 98% of this water is presently diverted for domestic and agricultural

purposes.

This Ottoman Railway Bridge was built in 1904 as part of the Hejaz Railway line linking

Haifa and Damascus.

Friends of the Earth Middle East is working with local partners to establish the transboundary

Jordan River Peace Park at the convergence of the Yarmouk and Jordan Rivers at the site of

the historic hydroelectric power plant.

The Naharayim Train Station, inaugurated in 1932, enabled local residents and workers at the

power plant to access Haifa or Damascus with ease.

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The Lower Jordan River has great eco-tourism potential through the preparation of heritage

routes highlighting the area’s natural beauty, unique historical sites, cross-valley hiking paths,

bicycle trails and bird watching areas.

The Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Islamic references associate the Jordan River with

the prophets Moses and Elijah, the baptism of Christ and the Companions of the Prophet

Mohammed.

Undertaking the sacred right of baptism in the Lower Jordan River is today unsafe due to the

high level of pollution and lack of fresh water.

Despite the deteriorated state of the Lower Jordan River, visitors from around the world flock

to visit this site of tremendous religious importance.

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Abandoned structures throughout the Jordan Valley give visitors a sense of stepping back in

time.

Residents and tourists have little access to the river, due to military restrictions.

The Peace Treaty signed between Jordan and Israel in 1994 specifically calls on the parties to

cooperate for the benefit of the River through 'Ecological rehabilitation of the Jordan River',

establishment of 'Nature reserves and protected areas' and through 'Tourism and historical

heritage'.

Palestine, as a riparian to the Lower Jordan River, must receive access and a fair share of the

river’s water resources as part of the Middle East peace negotiations.

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Wild wheat was first cultivated in the Lower Jordan River Valley.

Water subsidies have encouraged farmers on both sides of the Jordan Valley to grow

unsustainable crops including tropical fruits.

Green houses line both sides of the Jordan Valley.

Due to the lack of fresh water and the high level of pollution, the Lower Jordan River has lost

over 50% of its biodiversity.

Majestic white storks migrate through the Jordan Valley by the thousands; alongside

hundreds of other species including numerous globally and regionally threatened species.

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B. Informative Roll Ups:

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C. Films:

1. EcoPeace - Good Water Neighbors Film: http://foeme.org/code.html

2. EcoPeace - Jordan River Youth Song Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqnfMfeJgC4&feature=youtu.be