JOHNSTON PLAN (1953)

Development plan for the Jordan River.

This comprehensive plan was drawn up by U.S. Special Ambassador Eric Johnston in 1953, for regional development of the Jordan River system. The hope was that it would reduce regional conflicts by promoting cooperation and economic stability. The two major riparians—Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan—had their own plans for water development, but each objected to the other's plan. Eric Johnston attempted to reach a unified plan through negotiations that dealt with water quotas, use of Jordan water for outside the water-basin area, use of the Sea of Galilee (also called Lake Tiberias or Lake Kinneret) as a storage area, incorporating the Litani River into the Jordan system, and international supervision.

Negotiations lasted from 1953 to 1955 and the Unified Plan was negotiated, with Johnston playing the key role in pushing the compromises along. The Unified Plan was accepted by the technical committees of the League of Arab States (Arab League) and Israel. Israel's government informed the United States that it would accept the plan, but in October 1955, the Arabs decided not to ratify it. In fact, there has been implementation of the Johnston Plan on the part of Israel and separately by Jordan.

see also galilee, sea of; league of arab states.

Bibliography

Reguer, Sara. "Controversial Waters: Thirty Years of Exploitation of the Jordan River, 1950–1980." Middle Eastern Studies (spring 1993).

Sherman, Martin. The Politics of Water in the Middle East: An Israeli Perspective on the Hydro-Political Aspects of the Conflict. New York: St. Martin's, 1999.

sara reguer