To turn desert into oasis is the top priority of the water-poor Israel. The country has made miraculous achievements in turning arid land into fertile agricultural farmland. Now Israel hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in water resources and technology and jointly meet the global water challenge.
The Beijing–Israel Water Technology Seminar, jointly sponsored by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Embassy of Israel to China and Lanbailan.com, was held on July 11. Israeli Ambassador Amos Nadai said that as Israel has given top priority to water technology since the founding of the nation, it has advantages and experience in sea water desalination, sewage treatment, drip irrigation, water conservation, water management, etc. it also has the world’s most efficient and innovative water supply systems. Water technology is one of the key areas of cooperation between China and Israel.
70% of the Earth surface is covered by water, but less than 1% of the water is drinkable. Sea water desalination is the key to sustainable development. Israel is very experienced in turning sea water into irrigation water. Competed at the end of 2009, the Hadera reverse-osmosis sea water desalination plant is the world’s largest desalination plant. A United Nations report ranked Israel among the top for seawater desalination.
As 70% of the world’s water supply goes to agriculture, upgrading agricultural water supply system is of great importance to meeting water challenges. A UN report pointed out that in many countries over 80% of the sewage is let into rivers and underground aquifers untreated. Developed countries are not doing a good job in water purification, nor are all the developed countries.
In Israel, the less than 20,000 square kilometers of land supports a population of 7 million, with 60% of the land being the unlivable Negev desert. In the water-poor nation, the Israelis developed advanced water-saving technologies to support its agriculture. The country’s agricultural products(000061) not only meet domestic demand, but are also exported to European countries by a large amount.
To promote the agricultural industry, the Israeli government first solved the problem of water shortage. Since the 1950s, the Government has invested heavily in water efficiency facilities. It has built over 300 km of aqueducts and over 4,200 km of pipelines to transfer water in the North to the depth of the desert in the South. It has also formed a network of groundwater extraction systems. The reporter learned that nearly 70% of Israel’s sewage is treated and then used for agricultural purposes, with most of the rest of the sewage also treated before being used for other purposes.
Israeli engineer Simcha invented drip irrigation pipe in 1959, which is now considered the most valuable invention in the history of irrigation. Micro-irrigation, sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation have been popularized across Israeli over the years. Now the nation is using the fourth or fifth generation of drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation systems and other new water-saving technologies.
Drip irrigation has obvious advantages over other irrigation methods. As the volume of the drops from all the emitters on the side tube are the same, drip irrigation can be used even for terraces of mid-level slope. As technology advances, the dripping speed can be the same in cases of steep terrains and long distances. The fertilizer can be added into the water, drip on plants through emitters and reach the root of the plant, saving water and fertilizer at the same time. In Israel, computer-controlled drip irrigation system supplies water for crops at a certain time, quantity and area according to the absorbing capacity of the soil, the characteristics and growth stage of the crop and the climate. Thanks to this technology, Israel’s water resource utilization rate has increased to over 85%, arable land area to 450,000 hectors from the 165,000 hectares in 1949. The agricultural productivity has also soared, with per capita income of farmers reaching US$50,000 to 80,000.
According to world agricultural experts, the Earth can support three times more of the current population if the rest of the nations have the same water efficiency as Israel. The Israel International Agricultural Development Cooperation Center has built model farms in China, such as the China-Israel Farm completed in 1994 and the China-Israel Model Center of Agriculture in Arid Areas completed in 2003 in Xinjiang. Besides, Israel is developing deserts and carrying out agricultural projects in arid areas in West Africa, Lagu Dan desert in India, and northern Xinjiang China.