Governments in the Middle East's Jordan River Basin have managed to maintain some level of cooperation in dealing with regional water supply issues, despite the current intifada and other tensions in the arid to semi-arid region. However, these governments, as well as nations and nongovernmental organizations outside of the region, need to increase their efforts, in order to keep up with population and development pressures, and to reverse health and environmental problems associated with water degradation, experts told a U.S. House of Representatives' hearing on 5 May.