INTRODUCTION.

Janice J. Terry

We created every living creature of water. Will they then not believe? Qu'ran, al-Anbiya' 30

THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER and its equitable distribution in the water scarce region of the Mashraq and eastern Mediterranean cannot be overstated. In spite of deep nationalist conflicts, experts universally agree that resolutions based on the "fair" allocation of limited water resources, in order to meet the social and economic needs of the peoples of the region, are critical to the success of any peace process. But as the papers in this special issue indicate, experts on the availability and management of water resources hold widely disparate views, both on the amount of the available and potential water resources and on what the "fair" allocations of that water should be.

To address the issues of water conflict and resolution, the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan, in collaboration with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem and with the co-sponsorship by the UM International Institute, Frankel Center for Judaic Studies and School of Public Health, held a one-day symposium on "Water Conflicts in the Middle East: Environmental Health and Socioeconomic Implications" on 14 April 1999. With the exception of the papers by Munther J. Haddadin and John Kolars, earlier renditions of the papers in this special issue of Arab Studies Quarterly were presented at that symposium. Khalil H. Mancy, Professor of Environmental Health, Department of Environmental and Industrial Health, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, was instrumental in collecting and organizing the papers from the conference. Betsy Barlow of the Center also lent valuable assistance to the effort.

Addressing the complexity of water distribution among riparian nations with multitudes of political, military, economic, and social differences, Jonathan W. Bulkley argues that a full and frank exchange of information is "essential to ensure the long-term viability of water resource projects" and that "the effective management of this life-sustaining resource needs to be implemented through consideration of the resource on an appropriate watershed basis." Jad Isaac, Hillel I. Shuval and Munther J. Haddadin examine the issues of water availability and allocation from the Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian viewpoints respectively. Their conclusions regarding the "appropriate" allocation of...