A Reverse Water Carrier: Israel's Bold Climate Adaptation Efforts

A Reverse Water Carrier: Israel’s Bold Climate Adaptation Efforts to Ensure Water Supply for the Sea of Galilee and the Middle East with Alon Tal

Tuesday, Sept. 18, 5:30 to 7 p.m.  

James Madison College Library Room 332 (third floor) Case Hall, 842 Chestnut Rd.  

    

Climate change has created a regional water crisis in the Middle East. Rather than wait for catastrophic water shortages, Israel has begun to invest in a new infrastructure to take water from the Mediterranean Sea and bring it to the Sea of Galilee where it can serve as a national reservoir - and a source of water for Israel’s neighbors. The project goes online in October 2025. But is this new chapter in the country’s hydrological idiosyncratic history sustainable? Is it scalable to other water scarce regions? Based on recently completed research, this engaging presentation should be of interest for anyone concerned about what can be done to address the world’s mounting water crisis. Alon Tal is a professor at Tel Aviv University, where he previously served as chair of the Department of Public Policy. Dr. Tal was also a professor at Ben Gurion and at the Hebrew University, and has been a visiting Professor at Harvard, Michigan State, Otago, and Stanford Universities. He has founded several environmental organizations, including the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, the Arava Institute which is being considered for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, Zafuf, and the Israel Forum for Population, Environment, and Society. Between 2010 and 2013, Tal served as chair of Israel’s Green Party. 

 

Co-sponsors: College of Arts and Letters, James Madison College, College of Social Science, Residential College of Arts and Humanities, the International Studies Program, Science, Technology, Environment and Public Policy and the Asian Studies Center