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Al
Urdun Al Jadid Research Center
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Upcoming Activities during 2002: The Road to WSSD 2002: The road to world summit on sustainable development 2002 is a series of roundtables, was organized by the Jordanian Environmental Watch Program in cooperation with Heinrich Boell Foundation - Arab Middle east office, Ram Allah. 1.
Jordan between Rio 1992 and Johannesburg 2002:
Mr. Faris Al-Junide, the director general of the general cooperation for the environmental protection, headed and managed the roundtable. The first working paper during the roundtable presented by Mr. Ahmed Al-Qatarneh, the head of the sustainable development office, at the general cooperation for the environmental protection, he addressed the governmental preparations towards the world summit on sustainable development. While Dr. Iyad Abumoghli, the assistant resident representative of the United Nation Development Program in Jordan presented the second working paper, during the roundtable.
The Jordanian Environmental Watch at the Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center, in collaboration with the Heinrich Bell Foundation (The Arab Middle East Bureau) organized the third dialogue session which is part of a series of sessions related to the environment and sustainable development in Jordan, entitled "The Way to the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002". This session was entitled "The Jordanian Non-Government Organizations and Sustainable Development: Preparations and Expectations" and was held on the morning of Monday 15 July 2002. The main working paper, during the roundtable, was presented by Mr. Ra'uf Dabbas, the President of the Friends of the Environment Society, a member of the Higher Council for the Protection of the Environment, a member in the International Union for the Preservation of the Environment, the National Coordinator for the Globe Program, and a member of the National Preparatory Committee for the Capacity 21 Program. While Dr. Mona Hindiyeh, an associate Professor in the Environmental Department of the Jordanian University for Science and Technology headed and managed the dialogue session. The session focused on identifying the role of the Jordanian Non-Government Organizations operating in the field of the environment, in the preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Mr. Dabbas said that the contribution of these Organizations is minimal and not adequate, and that this Summit is one of the most important International Summits in the field of the environment and sustainable development, and is a very important opportunity for Jordan to present its problems and concerns. Therefore, the Report that will be presented during this Summit is a very important document, and should reflect the status of sustainable development in Jordan. Mr. Dabbas also added that a partnership between the Non-Governmental Organizations and the Government Institutes operating in the field of the environment in Jordan is very important, since comprehensiveness and cooperation between these parties is vital to the welfare of Jordan; indicating that Jordan loses millions of dollars annually due to the lack of cooperation between Government and Non-Government Organizations, and that NGOs are part of this country and their work should compliment the work of the Government. The president of the Friends of the Environment Society also pointed out a number of obstacles that challenge the NGOs in Jordan, the most prominent of which are: the lack of effective cooperation between the NGOs and Government Institutions working in the field of the environment in Jordan, the lack of experience or absence of adequate and important environmental information, the shortcoming of the media sector, limited financial resources, poor or lack of experience in the various environmental fields, in addition to the lack of interest in major groups like the Youth, Academics, and Women, and the efforts in soliciting their participation in the decision-making process. Several recommendations were made during this session, the most important of which were: .1. The importance of ensuring adequate and effective cooperation between the various sectors working in the field of the environment and sustainable development in Jordan, in order to realize actual sustainable development. .2. The importance of building institutional and human capabilities, whether this involves Government, Non-Government organizations, or Civil Society Organizations, working in the environmental field in Jordan. .3. The importance of including the Youth, and paying more attention to them since they are the future of this country, and ensuring that all opportunities are made available to them. .4. The importance of consistency in the work of all the NGOs in Jordan, namely those working in the environmental field, sustainable development, human rights, and related fields. Participants in this session included representatives of the Government sector, the NGOs operating in Jordan, Academics, and a number of activists involved in the environmental field in Jordan.
The Jordanian Environmental Watch, in collaboration with the Heinrich Boell Foundation (Arab-Middle East Office) organized the 2nd of a series of Roundtables Sessions focusing on The Environment and Sustainable Development in Jordan: "The Road to the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002". This session entitled "Proposing Sustainable Development Indicators for Jordan " was conducted at the Days Inn Hotel, on Monday 24/6/2002 at 10:00 am. The main working paper was presented by Dr. Ramzi Batayneh, an expert in Environmental Planning at the National Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, and Dr. Odeh Jayousi from the University of Applied Sciences directed the discussions. The session focused on identifying the criteria for the concept of sustainable development, the issues related to the practical aspects, the hypothetical basis for the realization of sustainable development, the importance of national criteria for sustainable development in Jordan, how to develop national criteria, and who is in charge of identifying these criteria, in addition to comparing the criteria for sustainable development in different parts of the world, and discussions on how these countries identified the criteria for sustainable development. - Sustainable Development is a major process, that is ever-changing and which poses and global challenge:
The adoption of Sustainable Development has many pre-requisites, including the establishment of organizations that serve to discuss the overall impact of development and the environment. Whereby the absence of such organizations is a major setback in reaping the benefits of sustainable development. - Agenda 21 is the Operational Method of the Concept of Sustainable Development:
Additionally, the development of indicators of sustainable development is mandatory for each and every country, as per Section 40 of the International Agenda 21, and is considered a basic procedure that will assess the work of the government in this field and integrate the environmental concerns in all the economic sectors. These indicators, once they have been identified and developed will aid the formulation of policies, the implementation of these policies and the assessment of their efficacy. - The Session emerged with several recommendations, the most prominent of which are: .1. The importance of concentrating on criteria for sustainable development, namely national criteria, which will ensure the realization of economic development and environmental protection, and work on developing the social environment in general. .2. The importance of a participatory process in order to achieve sustainable development, involving all the concerned sectors, mentioned in the Agenda 21, like the youth, women, the media…etc. .3. The National Foundation for the Protection of the Environment should patronize the on-going efforts that are aimed at realizing sustainable development, and should continue to do so even after the International Summit on Sustainable Development is over. .4. The importance of a working paper on Youth presented by the National Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, outlining the role of Youth in the achievement of sustainable development, the importance of employing the energy of the youth and ensuring they are partners in this process.
4. The Environmental Policies in Jordan and Sustainable Development: The Jordanian Environmental Watch, in collaboration with the German Heinrich Boell Foundation (The Arab Middle East Office) organized the first of a series of dialogue sessions entitled "The Road to the World Summit on Sustainable Development" on Monday 3/6/2002 at the Marmara Hotel in Amman. This session which lasted from 10:00 am until 01:00 pm was on "The Environmental Policies in Jordan and Sustainable Development". Mr. Khalid Irani presented the Director General of the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature, the main working paper during this session, while H.E. Dr. Mohammad Masalha, the Secretary General of the Jordanian House of Representatives, directed the session. Participants in this event included representatives from the Government Sector, the NGOs operating in Jordan, the Private Sector, members of the press, and a number of activists from the environmental field in Jordan. Several recommendations resulted from this session, the most prominent of which are: -The need for a clear and accurate definition of the Environmental Policies in Jordan. In addition to the preparation of a comprehensive National Memorandum that determines these policies, to be prepared prior to the Johannesburg summit. -The need to convene a national Conference to discuss the environmental policies and sustainable development in Jordan. -The need for a Work Plan to implement the National Strategy for the Environment. -The necessity for joint efforts for the drafting of a new environmental law, provided this partnership is both effective and practical. -The need for institutional training conducted by the local societies, by experts who have just come back from abroad. -The necessity of taking interest in a National Agenda, and consider it the National Work Plan of the current century. -Activate the role of the organizations operating in the field of environmental protection, to serve as an umbrella comprising all the activities related to the environment. -Increase the participation of the Civil Society Organizations in a special role involving the drafting of policies and monitoring the status of the Environment in Jordan. -Rearrange the administrative issues on environment in Jordan, and include an implementation process in the form of a clear Plan under the supervision of the concerned organization or establishment, provided the work is done in the environmental field and in accordance to environmental management systems, which involves important issues, problems, plans for solutions to all the problems, and development, taking into consideration Jordan's position with regards to Free trade and partnership. -Draft a clear, and agreed upon, definition for sustainable development, and the relationship of the environment with sustainable development. -Enhance environmental awareness due to its role in protecting the environment and realizing sustainable development.
The proceeding of the 7th Dialogue Session of the Jordanian Environmental Watch focused on the stage following the Agenda 21, and was a continuation of the Watch's contribution to the national preparations underway for the Sustainable Development Summit. The discussions during this sessions were concentrated on the stage following the launching of the National Agenda 21, which took place on the 23rd of July 2001, and whose launching coincided with the national and international preparations for the forthcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development due in Johannesburg in August of this year (2002). The Agenda 21 is a national work plan aimed at achieving sustainable development during the current century, and was the fruit of the efforts of more than 60 organizations and establishments working in the field of the environment and sustainable development in Jordan. At the start of the Workshop the participants were introduced to the Agenda 21, what Jordan has achieved since the World Earth Summit in 1992 till today, and all the work Jordan has to accomplish prior to the Johannesburg World Summit, in order to attain sustainable development. Several recommendations were made during this Session, the most prominent of which are: -The necessity of adopting the Agenda 21 as a national work plan for the 21st Century. -The necessity of establishing a National Committee to undertake all the preparations for the Johannesburg World Summit. -The necessity of determining national criteria for sustainable development, which are consistent with the economic, social and environmental conditions in Jordan. -The necessity of working on the preparation of a comprehensive Report on Jordan's achievements in the field of the environment since 1992, which is to be presented during the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
6. The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Jordan and Palestine in Enhancing Sustainable Development: Amman, Marmara
Hotel 5/1/2002. This session, initiated by the United Nation's Environmental Program, is a series of sessions that are being held in several capitals of the Arab World and Western Asia. Their purpose is to evaluate the performance of Non-Government Organizations in the various fields of sustainable development, the relation of these organizations with the UN Environmental Program, and how the joint efforts of these organizations can be employed to enhance their performance. These sessions stemmed from the dialogues conducted in the forums via the Internet and developed in actual consultation dialogues. The Session conducted at the Marmara Hotel on Saturday 5 January 2002, and which lasted from 9:00 am until 4:30 pm was dedicated to discussing the performance of the Civil Society Organizations in the field of sustainable development in Jordan and Palestine, and several recommendations were made. These recommendation will be drafted in a small booklet along with the recommendations of the session that were held in other parts of the world, and shall be presented during the International Conference on Sustainable Development due to be held in Johannesburg during the period 26/8-4/9/2002. During this session, the participants reviewed the current circumstances in Jordan and Palestine, and the challenges that are obstructing the realization of sustainable development in both countries. All the attendees concluded that it is of vital importance that the appropriate political environment be made available to ensure that all the parties involved will contribute effectively to the process of realizing economic, environmental and social development. Participants in this session included representatives of the NGOs operating in Jordan and Palestine, and the dialogue was managed by Mrs. Mariam Rahmani, from the Center for Sustainable Development in Iran.
1. A Reception Given by the Jordanian Environmental Watch: The Jordanian Environmental Watch/The Water and Environment Program of the Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center held a Reception at the Days Inn Hotel in Amman on Sunday 25/11/2001. This was held in celebration of the publication of the first Annual Environmental Report entitled "The Status of the Environment in Jordan 2000-2001". This Reception has attended by a number of Ambassadors and representatives of various Ministries, Academics, and heads of the Organizations working in the field of the environment, in addition to several other interested individuals involved in the field of the environment in Jordan. During this
reception, Mr. Hani Hourani, the Director General of the Al-Urdun
Al-Jadid Research Center, welcome the guests and introduced the
Center and the Environmental Watch to them. Mrs. Kirsten Maas, the
Head of the Regional office of Heinrich Boell Foundation, who funded
the publication of the Report expressed her satisfaction with this
major achievement realized in the publication of the First Annual
Report describing the status of the Environment in Jordan, while
Miss Amal Al-Dababseh, the Coordinator of the Jordanian Environmental
Watch gave a brief description of the contents of the Report, the
sources utilized to obtain the relevant data, and the maps and statistics
it contains, and expressed the Watch's willingness to collaborate
with all interested parties in order to publish a second report.
2.
Environmental Politics: Towards a Conceptual Framework:
3.
The National readiness for the International Sustainable Development
Summit:
4.
A Dialogue Session on "The Nuclear Accelerator for the Synchrotron
Lab: 5.
A Dialogue Session on the "Toxic Waste Shipment": 6.
The Legislative and Administrative Framework Required for Establishing
a Ministry for the Environment:
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© 2002 UJRC. All rights reserved
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