Photo by: The GEF Small Grants Programme National Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Desertification iii Foreword Foreword The prevailing stereotype of deserts is usually linked with low productivity, heat and scarcity of resources. This is true in terms of ecological conditions, but for a country that has 90% of its area classified as “drylands”, the Jordanian desert is a unique area of spiritual, religious, cultural and ecological characteristics. Deserts and dryland represents a wide range of nature’s beauty and are host to a dynamic ecological and human nexus that has shaped the livelihoods of populations throughout history in Jordan and other Arab countries. The sustainable management of drylands is in the heart of the development challenge facing Jordan and its people. Jordan is one of the countries most affected with the process of desertification, which is defined as a process of land degradation due to human and natural factors. Deserts are an intrinsic component of the culture of our region, but desertification is seen as a major threat to livelihoods and ecological integrity. This means that the battle to combat desertification will be won or lost in the drylands themselves. They can be managed in a sustainable way to make them ecologically balanced and economically productive, or the degradation will continue with high acceleration. Desertification is seen as the main environmental problem affecting natural resources in arid, semiarid and dry sub-humid climatic zones. The interaction between physical factors of climate and human induced factors is the main cause of the land degradation process that has been globally known as desertification. This fact has emphasized the need for international commitment towards controlling desertification and concluded that such a problem has no political borders. Therefore, the landmark “United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)” was developed as the main international effort to stop the threat of land degradation and open the way for sustainable land management options. The UNCCD was opened for signature in 1994. As a result of the Jordan commitment towards conservation of the local and regional environment, the Ministry of Environment coordinated the process of preparing the National Strategy and Action Plan (NAP) to combat desertification that includes long- term strategies for combating desertification within the context of the UNCCD.The NAP includes description of the country’s environment and current status of desertification in Jordan. Subsequently, a combination of bottom-up and top-down approach was followed to build up future programmes addressing local environment and community issues. The government of Jordan, represented by the Ministry of Environment, is committed to ensure the implementation of its NAP jointly with other governmental and non- iv governmental institutions. Despite the limited resources of the country, sustainable programmes are suggested to combat desertification and its adverse impacts.The proposed programmes, related to different sectors and components of environment, are focused on management and conservation practices, participation of local communities, land use planning, water management and identification of short-term and long-term indicators for monitoring desertification. One expected output is a monitoring programme with data and information available on the web jointly with e-government and national information system. The implementation of the NAP is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment in isolation. The task of the sustainable management of the country’s land resources and combating desertification requires integrated interventions at various sectors including water, agriculture, energy, rural development, etc… Therefore, the Ministry will seek for technical assistance of the international organizations, the industrial community and other parties of the Convention, to implement the suggested programmes to combat desertification and to mitigate the diverse effects and the associated problems of poverty and land degradation. This will be achieved in a participatory governance system while maintaining a coordination and evaluation role for the various activities and initiatives aiming for the common goal of sustainable land management and combating desertification. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest thanks and gratitude to all the national experts and national institutions that have worked together during the past two years in a participatory manner to develop a strategy that responds to the real needs of the National environment and the needs of Jordanian people. I hope this strategy will be a cornerstone in the policy framework to conserve and manage natural resources in a sustainable way for the benefit of current and future generations. Eng. Khalid Irani Minister of Environment National Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Desertification v Acknowledgement to Contributors Acknowledgement to Contributors A large number of Jordanian scientists and experts were involved in the preparation and the production of the National Strategy and Action Plan (NAP) to combat desertification under a project funded by UNDP. The Project was coordinated by: • Dr. Nedal al-Oran- Project Coordinator • Mr. Qusay Ahmad- Project Assistant • Ms. Sara Arsalan- Project Secretary • Mr. Khalaf al-Ogleh- Ministry of Environment A project steering committee was formed consisting of: • Dr. Yousef Shuraiki- Ex-Minister of Environment • Mr. Faris al Junaidi- Secretary General, Ministry of Environment • Dr. Kamal Khdeir- Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation • Dr. Iyad Abu Moghli- UNDP • Mr. Mohammad Shahbaz- National Center for Badia Research and Development • Mr. Ahmed al-Jazzar- Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. • Mr. Bakr al-Qudah- Ministry of Agriculture • Mr. Hussain Haza’a- Armed Forces • Mr. Eid al-Zubi- Jordanian Society for Combating Desertification • Dr. Mahfouz Abu Zanat- University of Jordan • Mr. Saleh Malkawi- Ministry of Water and Irrigation • Mr. Moaweyah Samara- Ministry of Water and Irrigation • Mr. Ez-Edeen Madhar- Royal Geographic Society • Ms. Feryal al-Rabadi- Society for the Development of Rural Women • Mr. Khalaf al-Ogleh- Ministry of Environment vi A group of experts was contracted to prepare the background studies and initial draft of NAP; they are: • Dr. Taleb Abu Sharar • Mr. Nabeel Abu Shariehah • Mr. Ahmad al-Oqleh • Mr. Nizar Abu Jaber. • Ms. Rabab al-Tal • Dr. Salah al-Sharari • Mr. Bakr al-Qudah • Dr. Salem Issa • Dr. Iyad Hussein • Dr. Amer Jabarin Then, a special task group was commissioned to review and update the initial draft as well as putting it in the final form.This group consists of: • Dr. Muhammad Shatanawi • Mr. Mohammad Shahbaz • Dr. Jawad al-Bakri • Dr. Saad AlAyyash • Mr. Ibraheim Khadir The Ministry of Environment would like to extend grateful and sincere thanks to the above individuals for their efforts in developing the National Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Desertification. Moreover, the support of Mr. Feras Gharaibeh, Ms. Helena Naber and Ms. Amal Dababseh from UNDP, Dr. Kamal Khdair from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and Mr. Batir Wardam and Mr. Esam Al-Faqer from the Ministry of Environment is highly appreciated. National Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Desertification vii Table of Contents Table of Contents Foreword iii Acknowledgement v Table of Contents vii List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Abbreviations and Acronyms x 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Purpose and objectives of the UNCCD 1 1.2 Need of national action plan and programme 2 1.3 Desertification 2 1.4 NAP in Jordan 5 1.5 Outlook and future objectives 8 2.0 Biophysical characterization of Jordan 9 2.1 Climate 9 2.2 Geology 14 2.3 Water resources 18 2.4 Land regions-soil types 25 2.5 Biological resources 28 2.6 Land use/cover 36 3.0 Socio-economic characterization 43 3.1 Demography 43 3.2 Economic development 44 3.3 Administrative structure 49 4.0 Legislative framework 55 4.1 Environmental protection law 55 4.2 Classification of Jordan legislations 55 4.3 Deficiencies in legislation 59 5.0 Desertification in Jordan 61 5.1 Status of desertification 61 5.2 Causes of desertification 62 5.3 Processes and possible indicators 64 6.0 Jordan national action plan to combat desertification 69 6.1 Objectives of the NAP 69 6.2 NAP programmes 70 References 95 Appendix I 99 Appendix II 103 Appendix III 109 viii List of Tables Table 1 Geological succession of Jordan 17 Table 2 Analysis of dominant soil types and their proportions 27 of the country’s area. Table 3 Northern woodland area (ha) in the north (compiled 33 data). Table 4 Existing land use in Jordan 38 Table 5 Irrigated and non-Irrigated areas of tree crops, field 39 crops and vegetables in 2003 (adapted from: DOS, 2003). Table 6 Selected Development Indicators for Jordan from 45 the UNDP Human Development Report, 2004 Table 7 Percent distribution of employed Jordanian age 46 +15 years by economic activity, 2003 Table 8 Level of achievement of MDGs in Jordan. 48 Table 9 Desertification process and possible indicators 66 (adapted from FAO/UNEP, 1984). National Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Desertification ix LIst of Tables amd Figres List of Figures Figure 1 Location of Jordan displayed onto Landsat ETM+ image 10 Figure 2 Mean annual rainfall in Jordan 12 Figure 3 Main bioclimatic zones of Jordan (after Al-Eisawi, 1985). 13 Figure 4 General geological era of Jordan 16 Figure 5 Surface water basins 20 Figure 6 Groundwater basins. 21 Figure 7 Land regions in Jordan, according to NSMLUP 26 Figure 8 Biogeographic regions of Jordan (After Disi and Amr, 1998). 30 Figure 9 Vegetation types recognized in Jordan (After: Albert et al., 2003). 32 Figure 10 Decline in northern woodland area between 1956 and 1987. 33 Figure 11 Establishment of rangeland reserves in Jordan (compiled data). 37 Figure 12 Establishment of wildlife reserves in Jordan (compiled data). 37 Figure 13 Potential land use in Jordan (after Taimeh, 1989). 41 Figure 14 Population density per kilometers square.