TransboundaryFig 1 NGO Master Plan for the Lower Part of the Jordan River Basin Lower Jordan River Royal HaskoningDHV in partnership with: MASAR Jordan Basin CORE Associates DHVMED Eco Peace Middle East SIWI - Stockholm International Water Institute GNF - Global Nature Fund EU - SWIMP, February 2015 ECO PEACE / NGO Master Plan (SWIM-JR) Project is supported by the European Union’s Sustainable Water Integrated Management (SWIM) Program. Transboundary NGO Master Plan for the Lower Part of the Jordan River Basin “Protecting the Environment” means to change our global perception: to change from a culture (and policy) that enables and even encourages excess consumerism that creates more and more system-wide problems and consumes natural resources, to a culture (and policy) based on wise consumption and maximum efficiency, that will improve the quality of life of the consumers and not only the volume of consumption. This applies especially to the policy regarding the water resource in our region that must be managed in a sustainable manner for current and future generations. Lower Jordan River Basin file : BB2939-100-101 classification : Confidential Eco Peace Middle East SIWI - Stockholm International Water Institute GNF - Global Nature Fund EU - SWIMP, 24 February 2015 © Royal HaskoningDHV B.V. is part of Royal HaskoningDHV Group. No part of these specifications/printed matter may be reproduced and/or published by print, photocopy, microfilm or by any other means , without the prior written permission of RHDHV B.V.; nor may they be used, without such permission, for any purposes other than that for which they were produced. The quality management system of RHDHV B.V. has been approved against ISO 9001. 1 Eco Peace Middle East Royal HaskoningDHV CONTENTS PAGE 1 INTRODUCTION 9 1.1 This Transboundary Master Plan 9 1.2 The Consultants 9 1.3 The Project Team 12 2 THE LOWER JORDAN RIVER BASIN 13 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 The Basin 13 2.2.1 Land Use 13 2.2.2 Water 18 2.2.3 Climate Change 22 2.2.4 Ecosystems 24 2.2.5 Pollution Sources 31 2.2.6 Cultural Heritage 36 2.2.7 Infrastructure 44 2.3 It’s People 48 2.3.1 Population 48 2.3.2 Socio-economic Situation 50 2.3.3 Agriculture 54 2.3.4 Tourism 61 2.3.5 Industry 64 2.3.6 Human Water Demands and Supply 67 2.3.7 WEAP Model for the Lower Jordan River Basin 74 2.4 It’s Governance 77 2.4.1 Stakeholders in the basin 77 2.4.2 Governance of the LJR Basin 82 2.4.3 International Agreements and Co-operation Issues 88 3 PROJECTIONS AND OBJECTIVES 96 3.1 Basin Projections for 2025 and 2050 96 3.2 Strategic Planning Objectives 103 3.2.1 Introduction 103 3.2.2 Pollution Control 104 3.2.3 Sustainable Water Management and River Rehabilitation 105 3.2.4 Sustainable Agriculture 106 3.2.5 Lower Jordan Basin Governance 107 3.2.6 Ecological Rehabilitation 108 3.2.7 Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Heritage Development 108 3.2.8 Urban and Infrastructure Development 109 4 MEETING THE STRATEGIC PLANNING OBJECTIVES 110 4.1 The Interventions 110 4.1.1 Pollution Control 115 4.1.2 Sustainable Water Management and River Rehabilitation 116 4.1.3 Sustainable Agriculture 119 2 Transboundary Master Plan version 3 Eco Peace Middle East Royal HaskoningDHV 4.1.4 Lower Jordan Basin Governance 122 4.1.5 Ecological Rehabilitation 122 4.1.6 Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Heritage Development 125 4.1.7 Urban and Infrastructure Development 127 4.2 Priority Setting 128 4.2.1 Short Term versus Long Term Interventions 129 4.3 Disbursement and Finance 130 4.4 Institutional and Governance Aspects 132 5 THE YEAR 2050 133 5.1 The Basin Economy in 2050 133 5.2 Land Use in 2050 136 5.3 Water Related Impacts in 2050 140 5.4 Jordan River Flow in 2050 147 5.4.1 Assumptions 147 5.4.2 Salinity 148 5.4.3 Groundwater contribution 148 5.4.4 Water Supply Assumptions 149 5.4.5 Impacts on Flows in the Jordan River 151 6 FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 154 7 COLOPHON 155 3 Transboundary Master Plan version 3 Eco Peace Middle East Royal HaskoningDHV List of Figures Figure 1 – Lower Jordan Valley .................................................................................................................. 11 Figure 2 – Current Land use of the Northern Part of the Lower Jordan Valley ........................................... 15 Figure 3 – Current Land use of Southern Part of the Lower Jordan Valley South ...................................... 16 Figure 4 – Topography of the Lower Jordan Valley .................................................................................... 17 Figure 5 – Lower Jordan River and its main tributaries ............................................................................... 19 Figure 6 – The Jordan River ....................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 7 – Groundwater Aquifer Systems in the Region [ref: EXACT-ME] ................................................. 21 Figure 8 – Arab Dam 22 Figure 9 – Vegetation Index ........................................................................................................................ 24 Figure 10 - Water Snake in the Lower Jordan River ................................................................................... 26 Figure 11 - Parks in the north part of the Lower Jordan .............................................................................. 29 Figure 12 - Nature reserves and national parks in the southern part of the LJV (West Bank) .................... 30 Figure 13 - Deir Alla landfill ........................................................................................................................ 32 Figure 14 - Gesher fish farm ....................................................................................................................... 34 Figure 15 – Ancient Hisham Palace in Jericho ........................................................................................... 36 Figure 16 – Walls of Ancient Jericho .......................................................................................................... 38 Figure 17 – Tell Deir’ Alla ........................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 18 - The Tomb of Abut ‘Ubaydah ..................................................................................................... 40 Figure 19 – Castle of Karak ........................................................................................................................ 41 Figure 20 – Belvoir Fortress ....................................................................................................................... 43 Figure 21 – Jericho City Center .................................................................................................................. 52 Figure 22 – Old Farm House in the Southern Part the Jordan Valley ......................................................... 54 Figure 23 - Greenhouses in the Lower Jordan Valley ................................................................................. 60 Figure 24 – Agricultural Zones in the Lower Jordan Valley (Jordan) .......................................................... 61 Figure 25 : Stone cutting workshop and car workshop near Moath Bin Jabal ............................................ 65 Figure 26 - King Abdullah Canal ................................................................................................................. 68 Figure 27 - Palestinian versus Israeli control in the Jordan Valley .............................................................. 87 Figure 28 – Disbursement Requirements in MUSD per year .................................................................... 130 Figure 29 – Funding Model for the Lower Jordan River Basin in MUSD per year .................................... 132 Figure 30 – Land Use Map 2050 for the Northern Part of the Lower Jordan River Basin ......................... 137 Figure 31 – Land Use Map 2050 for the Southern Part of the Lower Jordan River Basin ........................ 138 List of Tables Table 1 – Land use in the study area .......................................................................................................... 14 Table 2 – Climate Characteristics relevant for the Lower Jordan River Basin ............................................ 23 Table 3 – Climate Change related Impacts to the Lower Jordan River Basin ............................................. 23 Table 4 - Current threats of ecosystems of the Lower Jordan River and their causes ................................ 27 Table 5 - Estimated population in the Study area (2010) ............................................................................ 49 Table 6 - Socio-economic parameters ........................................................................................................ 51 Table 7 - Main features of the three agricultural zones of the Jordan River Valley ..................................... 55 Table 8 - Cultivated and irrigated land (ha) in the Jordan valley per zone in 2009/2010 ............................ 55 Table 9 - Agricultural land use in the agricultural-water zones of the LJRB study area in 2011 ................ 56 Table 10 - Livestock in the Western Lower Jordan River Basin .................................................................. 57 Table 11 - Classification matrix of farm organizations and farming styles in the Jordan Valley .................. 59 Table 12 – Lower Jordan Valley Tourism Indicators