Water Management in Jordan and Its Impact on Water Scarcity Hanan Al
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Water Management in Jordan and its Impact on Water Scarcity Hanan Al Omari Thesis submitted to the University of Ottawa in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science of Environmental Sustainability Institute of Environment Faculty of Science/Environment sustainability University of Ottawa © Hanan Al Omari, Ottawa, Canada, 2020 ABSTRACT Jordan is among the poorest countries in the world with respect to water resources. Water scarcity in Jordan is an alarming problem that can jeopardize the economy and the stability of the country. It is a multidimensional problem caused by many factors such as the fluctuation of annual precipitation rates, the rapid change in population caused by the refugee influx from neighbouring countries, and the economic situation of the country. The water scarcity problem is aggravated by limitations in water management. This research investigated the shortcomings of water management that contribute to water scarcity. It involves a literature review, a survey questionnaire and interviews. These methods aim to assess the current challenges that prompt water scarcity, understand the water management shortcomings and their causes, identify the existing government solutions for water scarcity, and propose a sustainable solution for this problem. The research finds that water management in Jordan has several shortcomings such as the lack of monitoring and controlling water resources and preventing illegal drilling, the incapability of the government to reduce the non-revenue water as a result of aged water network and water theft, and illegal practices of the agricultural and industrial sectors. This research proposed a solution that aim to mitigate water scarcity in Jordan by enhancing several management practices. Moreover, the proposed solution calls for efficient managerial practices to be adopted by decision makers and the public. I argue that the proposed solutions are sustainable and cheaper than the existing government solutions that rely on searching for new water resources rather than improving water management. ii Acknowledgement I would like first to thank my thesis supervisor Prof. Jamie Benidickson who steered me in the right direction during the writing for this thesis. Also, I would like to thank the experts and officials from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in Jordan for providing valuable information during their interviews, including the former Minister of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. Without their passionate participation and input, I would not have been able to conduct the interviews successfully. Last but not least, I would also like to acknowledge the second readers of this thesis Dr. Sonia Wesche and Dr. Paul Heintzman, I am gratefully indebted for their valuable comments on this thesis. iii Dedication I dedicate this thesis to the soul of my father Khaled Al Omari who always inspired me by his motivation and determination and to my mother who is my director in life. This dedication also goes to my family; my husband Nasser and my lovely kids Nathalie and Mohammed who provide me with their continuous support. Last, I would like to thank my very special influential friends who were beside me in my hard circumstances and helped me to look at the brighter side of my life. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Water Management and Sustainability ................................................................................... 1 1.2 Water Scarcity in Jordan ........................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Research Motivation .................................................................................................................. 5 1.4 Research Scope ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Research Problem ..................................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Research Objectives and Contributions ................................................................................. 8 1.7 Research Methodology ............................................................................................................. 9 1.8 Thesis Organization ................................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 2 Literature Review ................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Identifying the Water Problem in Jordan .............................................................................. 11 2.2 Water Resources in Jordan .................................................................................................... 13 2.3 Water Needs and Consumption in Jordan ........................................................................... 16 2.4 Water Strategies and Policies ................................................................................................ 17 2.5 Factors that Impact Water Scarcity in Jordan ...................................................................... 19 2.6 Water Scarcity in other Middle Eastern Countries .............................................................. 29 Chapter 3 Applied Research Methodology .......................................................................................... 34 3.1 The Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 34 3.2 Sampling Strategy of the Interviews ...................................................................................... 35 3.3 Interview Questions ................................................................................................................. 36 3.4 Conducting the Interviews ....................................................................................................... 37 3.5 Interviews Data Analysis ......................................................................................................... 38 3.6 Advantages and Limitations of Interviews ............................................................................ 39 3.7 The Survey Questionnaire Objectives .................................................................................. 40 3.8 Sampling Strategy for the Questionnaire .............................................................................. 40 3.9 The Survey Questionnaire Design ......................................................................................... 42 3.10 Advantages and Limitations of the Survey Questionnaire ................................................. 43 3.11 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 4 Results..................................................................................................................................... 45 4.1 Results of the Literature Review ............................................................................................ 45 4.2 Reporting the Interviews Findings ......................................................................................... 48 v 4.3 Reporting the Survey Questionnaire Finding ....................................................................... 56 4.4 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter 5 Discussion and Conclusion .................................................................................................. 61 5.1 Causes of Water Management Shortcomings ..................................................................... 62 5.1.1 The Impact of the Economic Situation .............................................................................. 62 5.1.2 The Impact of Tribal and Lobbyist Influence .................................................................... 65 5.1.3 The Impact of Awareness about Water Scarcity ............................................................. 65 5.1.4 The Impact of Multiple Authorities for Water Governance ............................................. 67 5.1.5 The impact of Industrial and Agricultural Practices ......................................................... 68 5.2 Proposed Solutions for Water Scarcity in Jordan ................................................................ 69 5.3 Conclusion and Future Work .................................................................................................. 73 Appendix A. Ethics Approval ................................................................................................................... 84 Consent Form ..................................................................................................................................... 102 Appendix B. Interviews Forms ............................................................................................................... 105 Appendix C. Survey Questionnaire ........................................................................................................ 115 vi List of Tables Table 1: Groundwater Basins in Jordan ....................................................................................15 Table 2: Water consumption