Between June 12th and 19th 2007, in West Jerusalem, Clemens Messerschmid, presented his a two-part lecture series sponsored by the Alternative Information Center, titled “Till the Last Drop: The Palestinian Water Crisis in the West Bank, Hydrogeology and Hydropolitics of a Regional Conflict.” Mr. Messerschmid is a German hydrogeologist who has worked for many years on international water projects in the West Bank.

In his first lecture, he introduced the physical settings of water resources in the region and their extremely asymmetrical allocation between the Palestinians and Israelis.

In addition, he gave an introduction to the hydrogeology of the shared aquifers and an overview of the historical development of their utilization, focusing on the years of overt occupation between the 1967 War and The Oslo Interim Agreement of September 1995.

In the second lecture, Clemens focuses on the hydro-political developments during the Oslo and post-Oslo periods up to the present, examining the diverging agendas of Palestinians and Israelis, and also of the donor states and their water projects.

Finally, Clemens presents a critical discussion of possible solutions to the situation, examining their technical and political merits.

To download the first part of the podcast file, right button click here and save.

To download the second part of the podcast file, right button click here and save.

Alternatively, you can listen to the podcast here and here.

Also, you can download the slide presentation that goes along with the lecture, from here.

Via: The Alternative Information Center