+THE JORDAN RIVER BASIN GAME; STEPS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE RIVER MANAGEMENT IN AN INSECURE AND CONFLICTUOUS BASIN. Dr. Joshka Wessels 1 1. Department of Political Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, Joshka.wessels@svet.lu.se ABSTRACT This paper deals with testing an innovative Jordan River Basin boardgame implemented in various contexts. A short description of hydropolitics in the Jordan River Basin and an overview of the positions of the riparians is given. Secondly, the impact of regional hydropolitics at community level in two case studies and the development of the Jordan River Basin game will be discussed. The paper will then reflect on the testing the boardgame and the results derived from these experiments. The boardgame, played by 5 players or player groups, is a proto-type used as an analytical tool for research. Concluding, the paper gives a preliminary assessment on the use of serious gaming. INTRODUCTION This paper is written within the framework of the project Hydropolitics in the Jordan River Basin under the umbrella of the Lund University MECW (Middle East in the Contemporary World) programme. The Jordan River basin is shared by five different riparians in what is arguably the most violent basin in the Middle East; Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel all share the same basin (Jägerskog et al. 2009; Zeitoun et al. 2012). The demise of the Jordan River since the 1960s has been rapid; many parts have almost no flow anymore. According to the Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), 97% of the river’s original flow of approx. 1,258 MCM is diverted by Israel, Syria, and Jordan before it reaches the Dead Sea. The remaining flow is polluted due to uncontrolled industrial and agricultural activity, and the river has lost over 50 percent of its original biodiversity (FoEME 2011). The Dead Sea is sinking at a rate of at least one meter per year, but better regional cooperation could help reverse its decline (Brown and Crawford 2009; Jägerskog et al. 2009). The ongoing hostilities prevent the establishment of a river basin organization (RBO) consisting of all riparian countries. Several plans have emerged for allocation and transboundary water management of the river basin resources according to principles of international water law, but they have been unfruitful. This paper looks at alternatives through the use of serious gaming and assessing dimensions at local level and gives the first results of our work in progress. HYDRO-DIPLOMACY AND PEACEBUILDING Domination and control over the waters of the Jordan River is central to the conflict between the riparian countries Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. The perpetuation of the conflict is reflected on the ground where local communities are affected by poor distribution of water, policies that prevent access to water bodies and perpetual droughts. Hydropolitics in the Jordan River Basin have prevented effective cooperation on trans-boundary water management between riparians (Jagerskog, 2003; Kramer, 2008; Zeitoun, 2008, 2012). On the ground, livelihoods of communities in all riparian countries are directly affected by the political discourse on water in the Jordan River Basin. The impact of drought and climate change is going to have extra strain on security in the region (Brown & Crawford, 2009). But the concepts of security and drought are also used politically and to instill fear at community level. The occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by Israel has resulted in a hegemony position for Israel (Zeitoun et al, 2012). The Occupation water policy of the Palestinian Territories has been called “water apartheid” by a report published by the French Foreign Ministry in 2012 (Glavany, 2011). This “water apartheid” is reflected in the day-to-day business of the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Water Committee and the policies of the Israeli Civil Administration in occupied areas B and C. Jan Selby theorised on the two-state solution and the water file, calling the current interim-agreement “domination and control dressed up as cooperation” (Selby, 2005).