The Ministry of Environment has warned of what it called frightening scenarios due to the Dead Sea-Red Sea Canal that Israel decided to dig in cooperation with Jordan. A study by the Environmental Affairs Agency said the water storage will cause a reversal change in the wild life, as many creatures will not be able to cross the water bodies. The canal may also affect the path of migratory birds and cause an increase in insects, which may help spread diseases. The canal will result in a huge force of water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea through the Gulf of Aqaba. This may negatively affect the beach and tourist investments in Egypt. In addition, coral reefs may be affected by the force of the water and sludge. The study expected that the region states, including Egypt, will be threatened of earthquakes, according to the theory of Reservoir Induced Seismicity (RIS), which confirms that reservoirs and dams are behind the occurrence of earthquakes in many regions around the world. This may destroy the Egyptian local facilities and infrastructure, especially in the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea coastline. The area where the canal will be dug is part of an active seismic belt, the study said, adding that historical records and documents referred to large earthquakes over the past fifteen years in the south, especially in the Gulf of Aqaba. Israel aims to develop and reclaim the Negev Desert – some 50% of Palestine's space and a stone's throw away from Egypt – through providing it with water and electricity. The canal will also lead to more absorption of Jewish immigrants (about two million), change in the demography of the Negev Desert, seizing the Bedouins and Arabs' lands, in addition to the subsequent re-distribution of population and the emergence of industrial and agricultural projects. The groundwater will be polluted due to the salt water from the canal, the study said, adding that it is necessary to obtain the project's engineering designs and the proposed methods of implementation so that data could be used in making detailed studies on the project's effects. Israel will have a leading role in the project and its international and legitimate protection. This will turn Egypt's east borders into a barrier between the overall development in the east and limited development in Sinai. The canal will also isolate Egypt from the international arena. The study has warned that the transfer of some two billion cubic meters of water from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Dead Sea will kill living creatures in the water. In addition, micro-organisms in the Dead Sea may develop into bacteria that would change the color of water to brown.
