Israel is in a semi-arid climate zone, with more than 60 percent of its land covered by desert. It is considered one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, experiencing annual extreme variations in precipitation, as well as multiple and consecutive years of drought.
From its early years of statehood, Israel needed to address the challenge of water scarcity, a fact that has undoubtedly shaped the development of the Israeli water sector over the past seven decades.
To survive and strive, Israel had no choice but to adapt and develop a series of innovative water technologies and practices, as well as national water resources and systems reforms.
This approach, encompassing good management, high-tech development and public education, has transformed Israel from a water-parched nation to a global leader in the water sector.
In Israel, the balance between water demand and supply shows a constant deficit, growing from year to year. The permanent challenge is to close the gap.
Furthermore, and most importantly, natural replenishment of water resources is challenged by the effects of climate change: Droughts are more frequent, more intense and occur for longer periods.
Managing the national water sector, while coping with scarcity, poses a complex challenge that requires an optimal response.
Israel’s water sector has undergone significant changes in almost all aspects: physical, structural, legislative and organizational, following the understanding that the only possible way to cope with natural water shortage on one hand, and a growing population and life quality standards on the other, was to adopt and implement an integrated water resources management approach.
To achieve a reliable water supply, Israel has over the years gradually implemented holistic and integrative policies, combining institutional and infrastructure reforms.
These include a national water system connecting all regional water infrastructures to a national level system and the large-scale reuse of treated wastewater for agriculture. Reclaimed wastewater has become a major source of water for farmers, supplying more than 40 percent of the country’s needs for irrigation, with almost 90 percent of wastewater being reused.
The policies also include the development of large-scale desalination plants (in Israel there are six plants that provide more than 80 percent of the country’s domestic and industrial water needs); the creation of a supporting environment for water innovation, for example through the establishment of a unique industry-utility-university ecosystem; the promotion of demand management and public awareness through a major government-initiated water conservation campaign; and the development and installation of efficient irrigation technologies, and investment in innovation.
During these challenging times for Taiwan, when the water resources issue is becoming more critical and urgent, Israel stands ready to share its experience and innovative technologies in water management and treatment.
Particularly, as a global leader in desalination, Israel can help address the growing water needs of the Taiwanese industry.
Israeli companies are supplying millions of cubic meters of fresh water every day, in dozens of facilities around the world for various uses. The vast knowledge and experience gained in Israel can help Taiwan guarantee its water needs for many years to come.
Omer Caspi is the representative of Israel in Taiwan.
Since the end of the Cold War, the US-China espionage battle has arguably become the largest on Earth. Spying on China is vital for the US, as China’s growing military and technological capabilities pose direct challenges to its interests, especially in defending Taiwan and maintaining security in the Indo-Pacific. Intelligence gathering helps the US counter Chinese aggression, stay ahead of threats and safeguard not only its own security, but also the stability of global trade routes. Unchecked Chinese expansion could destabilize the region and have far-reaching global consequences. In recent years, spying on China has become increasingly difficult for the US
Lately, China has been inviting Taiwanese influencers to travel to China’s Xinjiang region to make films, weaving a “beautiful Xinjiang” narrative as an antidote to the international community’s criticisms by creating a Potemkin village where nothing is awry. Such manipulations appear harmless — even compelling enough for people to go there — but peeling back the shiny veneer reveals something more insidious, something that is hard to ignore. These films are not only meant to promote tourism, but also harbor a deeper level of political intentions. Xinjiang — a region of China continuously listed in global human rights reports —
The annual summit of East Asia and other events around the ASEAN summit in October and November every year have become the most important gathering of leaders in the Indo-Pacific region. This year, as Laos is the chair of ASEAN, it was privileged to host all of the ministerial and summit meetings associated with ASEAN. Besides the main summit, this included the high-profile East Asia Summit, ASEAN summits with its dialogue partners and the ASEAN Plus Three Summit with China, Japan and South Korea. The events and what happens around them have changed over the past 15 years from a US-supported, ASEAN-led
To the dismay of the Chinese propaganda machine, President William Lai (賴清德) has been mounting an information offensive through his speeches. No longer are Taiwanese content with passively reacting to China’s encroachment in the international window of discourse, but Taiwan is now setting the tone and pace of conversation. Last month, Lai’s statement that “If China wants Taiwan it should also take back land from Russia” made international headlines, pointing out the duplicity of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) revanchism. History shows that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) stance on regional territorial disputes has not been consistent. The early CCP
RSS