BBC News Online: World: Middle East

Dead Sea in danger

The Dead Sea, the saltiest body of water on earth and a glistening natural treasure, is shrinking dramatically due to human decisions to siphon off its waters.

Located at the lowest point on earth, almost 400 metres below sea level in the scorching Jordan valley, the Dead Sea is 50 kilometres long.

Just 40 years ago its stretched 80 kilometres in length.

The Ein Gedi Spa, set in a magical spot at the foot of high cliffs which stretch from the Dead Sea up to the Judaean Desert, was on the edge of the sea just 15 years ago.

Now visitors to the Spa have to take a small train down to the sea, as the shoreline is several hundred metres away.

British explorers in 1917 made a mark on the stone which originally lay at the water's edge.

That marker is now more than 15 metres up a cliff and a road runs between the cliff and the new shoreline.

Water shortage

One of the main reasons for the sea's shrinkage is the diversion of water.

Ninety percent of the waters that flow from the Jordan River, which traditionally supplies the Dead Sea, is diverted for drinking and agriculture in Israel and Jordan.

The region is suffering its worst water shortage in 60 years.

Most Israeli agricultural produce is exported. Environmentalists argue that, if the water was not diverted and the Dead Sea was left to flourish, tourism would grow, making up revenues lost from agriculture.

Industrial activities also contribute to the Dead Sea's problems. Massive evaporation pools vaporise the water in order to extract minerals, which are used for industrial activities and for making beauty products. The evaporation pools account for a quarter of the Dead Sea's shrinkage.

Healing properties

Currently, hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to the Dead Sea every year to float on its waters - so salty that even a well-built man can float unaided, reading a newspaper comfortably while lying on his back.

The water contains a high level of sulphur, and the thick black mud that is found at the sea's edge contains healing qualities that are said to be effective in the treatment of skin diseases.

Tourists smother themselves in the black mud, blissfully unaware of the Dead Sea's troubles.

It can still be saved - but time is running out.

"We are approaching a time when the ecological habitat which the unique fauna and flora rely on will vanish and that's why its a critical moment to save the Dead Sea", said Gidon Bromberg of Friends of the Earth Middle East.

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Internet Links

Dead Sea guide
Friends of the Earth International

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