Before the Janna dam file or other files are closed due to a settlement or an open crisis, it is necessary to highlight some points, which are supposed to turn into facts, for the supporters, opposition, and all parties in the conflict. First, it must be recognized that water, whether potable or salty, is part of environmental systems, defined by historical paths, and humans have no favor in its existence at all.
It must be recognized as well, that man’s interventions, which are called “civilized”, have contributed to breaching in these systems, and they were not helpful, nor were they harmonious with those systems, as they are supposed to be.
Another fact emerges from this acknowledgment, and it should be adopted in any settlement or any future debate, which is that water is a public ownership, just like fog, clouds, and air, meaning that it is not supposed to be owned by anyone, and the state and the concerned official departments are responsible for protecting it, managing it, and preserving its quality and availability for the present and future generations, as basic rights, ensuring that there is a good benefit from it, that does not contradict with ensuring its sustainability as a renewable resource, and basic nourishment in life, knowing that it includes the necessary minerals for life.
We should also acknowledge that the criteria upon evaluating any investment project on water is the extent of its compatibility with its composition, and flow, in addition to its natural and ecological renewal.
The importance of developing a strategy to manage it, is not to justify the creation of dams, but in order to determine the priorities based on ecological data, benefiting from what is given from nature first, and by following the rationalization policies, adjusting consumption, and stopping the theft, squandering, and pollution … as a priority upon any investment, especially the dangerous, costly, and unnecessary investments such as the establishment of exposed dams.
Based on this, what is required today, as an escape from this non-essential dispute among the governmental parties, and in order not to do any compromises against the environment, water, and rights of the current and future generations … The historical criticism on this file must be addressed, by concentrating specifically on the “ten-year plan” or “water strategy” approved by the cabinet in 2012, and stopping the implementation of the already decided upon costly and unnecessary projects, such as the establishment of dams projects, and opening a real discussion on this strategy (which was never done before, especially with those who have ideas that are different from the dominant opinion in the ministries or with experts who deal with them), with the confirmation of the Ministry of environment’s role to conduct a strategic environmental assessment of the Ministry of energy and water’s strategy, along with developing a “water Code”, especially in terms of proposing laws to translate the principles saying that water is a human right, and it is a public property.
The privatization operations and so-called ” appropriation water rights” must also be re-considered. The state must also buy what fills the deficit of these “rights”, especially for fresh water springs, and it should distribute them equally to the people, rather than creating exposed dams, which are apt to evaporation and pollution.
