Squeezed Dry: the Historical Trajectory of the Lower Jordan River Basin

This chapter illustrates the gradual anthropogenization and complexification of the lower Jordan River basin over a time-span of 60 years. It describes a striking transformation from the situation around 1950, when only 10,000 ha were irrigated, groundwater was untapped and abundant water flowed to the Dead Sea, to the current situation, when nearly all surface resources are diverted and committed and groundwater is being severely overexploited. This trajectory has revealed a drastic concomitant change of societies and waterscapes in an arid region subject to dramatic political tensions and socio-technical change.