The Exercise deals with distribution of water resources shared between Israel, Palestine and Jordan. Teams composed of students, representing the countries involved, will negotiate over the contract on allocation of water.
Research and Preparation by the Students
Student-negotiators will decide on the scope of research they need for effectively conducting the talks, and they will do the research. In this task students receive assistance from our Experts (advisors). Students will explore three issues:
1) Solving problems by contract negotiation. Students will draft a contract setting up a framework for the water market among the interested parties.
2) Basics of the CO2 trade under Kyoto Protocol. The core provisions of the negotiated agreement should be inspired by the Kyoto system. Thus, students should research the mechanics of gas emission market. They will need to understand how the gas trade functions, in order to decide whether it can be effectively implemented into the water distribution framework contract. For the project, we have the expert support of the central Polish authority dealing with the registration of emissions and the trade (KASHUE-KOBIZE).
3) Water politics of the Middle East. The contract needs to make concessions for the specificity of the water and for regional determinants. with special focus on the three countries involved. Students will be asked to investigate the Jordan River Basin aquifer itself. They need to learn where the water must be delivered, what alternatives to the underground resources exist, and which are economically justified.
Executive Guidelines for Negotiators
While drafting the contract, students will have to address political issues underlying the water dispute. At the beginning of the talks, the teams will work on negotiation instructions with their Principals (i.e. with the governments of the countries represented at the table).
Parallel to the talks with the opposing parties, students will be free to renegotiate the instructions or scope of their authority with their Principals.
Students will have about 10 weeks to conduct talks, consult experts (in person or by means of distant communication), draft and exchange memoranda and mark-ups of the agreement. Students will be asked to present progress memoranda. The memoranda should show the advancements in the negotiations, and reflect on the changes in the team’s instructions. Finally, teams will conduct one or two rounds of negotiations.