With the launch this week on BigGreenSmile of the Dead Sea Spa Magik range we thought it apt to bring attention to some of the good work being done out at the Dead Sea.

 

I was initially shocked when I heard for the first time a month or so back that true to its name the Dead Sea is actually dying.  The Dead Sea, bordering Jordan the West Bank and Israel is in the worlds deepest valley (1,300ft / 400m below sea level) and as such is closest to the worlds minerals, most noticeably salt, the Dead Sea being 10 times saltier than the Mediterranean.  The Dead Sea is central to several Biblical stories and throughout the centuries the Dead Sea mud and minerals have been used for their therapeutic qualities.  With so much heritage and history surely the Dead Sea can’t die?  The truth of the matter is however that it is evaporating by up to a metre a year because the river that feeds it, the River Jordan has been reduced to nothing but a trickle.  This trickle is the result of a Jordanian channel diverting water, an Israeli dam and a Syrian reservoir which all take water from sources and tributaries that used to feed the River Jordan and in turn the Dead Sea.   

Friends of the Earth have named the Dead Sea area as one of the 100 most at risk sites in the world.  In May this year though a Jordanian plan has been agreed with Israel’s support to divert water from the Red Sea near Aqaba which would be desalinated to provide fresh water for Jordan and then sent into the Dead Sea to replenish levels, being used to generate hydro-power on the way.

 

Although the Dead Sea minerals themselves are completely natural and can have wonderful effects on your skin the Dead Sea eco system is out of balance and needs to be adjusted.  BigGreenSmile will be giving 1% of all revenues generated from Dead Sea Spa Magik to Friends of the Earth Middle East whose Let The Jordan River Flow campaign aims to make the area a UNESCO world heritage site which would secure a mechanism for rehabilitation and conservation.  If you want to get involved yourself you can sign Friends of the Earth Middle East online petition.