Beirut hosts regional water conference

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 25 (UPI) -- Geological issues like groundwater aquifers aren't affected by political boundaries so regional cooperation in the Arab world is essential, an adviser said.

Syria has suffered from drought for four consecutive years. The United Nations estimates 1.3 million people have been affected by drought and herders have lost at least 80 percent of their livestock.

Lebanon hosted an international conference on water redistribution and management. Hans-Joachim Kumpel, president of German geological advisory group BGR, told Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star that Lebanon was better off than its neighbors when it came to water.

"But Lebanon must nonetheless take care of its resources and trans-boundary aquifers here so one has to talk to other countries such as Syria and Jordan," he said.

BGR and the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia are examining groundwater resources shared among Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

BGR's Franca Schwarz said water resources can be politically sensitive issues though the Beirut conference is a sign that regional players are willing to work together.

"Geology doesn't have boundaries," Schwarz was quoted as saying. "Governments interchange all the information that they have and are combining it right now at the meeting."