Israel and Jordan agree to team up to save Jordan RiverJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Jordan signed a declaration of intent on Thursday at the U.N. climate conference to conserve and protect their shared Jordan River — a sacred waterway nearly running dry because of climate change, pollution and other threats.It says Israel and Jordan have promised to try to reduce river pollution by building up wastewater treatment facilities and upgrading sewer systems to prevent riverside cities from dumping raw sewage into the waters, according to a statement from the Israeli government.Conservative Qatar preps for World Cup partyJordan’s state-run Petra news agency said the plan will hopefully increase water supplies and create job opportunities “for those living on both sides of the Jordan River, including Palestinians.”EcoPeace Middle East, a cross-border environmental group that has promoted Israeli-Jordanian-Palestinian cooperation on water issues, said the agreement to rehabilitate the Jordan River was “a critical climate adaptation measure that can help bring back 50% of the biodiversity lost because of decades of pollution and freshwater diversion.”The waterway also separates Jordan to the east from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and sought by the Palestinians for their future independent state.In recent years the once-rushing waters of the Jordan River have been reduced to a trickle as population growth and climate change take their toll.Because its waters feed into the Dead Sea, the saltwater lake is now disappearing — its levels dropping by three feet per year."