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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, will be organized
by the Jordanian Environmental Watch Program in
cooperation with Heinrich Boell Foundation - Arab
Middle east office, Ram Allah.
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Activities
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Expected
date
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| Proposing
Sustainability Indicators for Jordan. |
Monday
24 June 2002
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| What
Jordanian NGO expects and prepare for WSSD. |
Monday
15 July 2002
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| What
Jordan has achieved in its commitments made
in Rio and in implementing Agenda 21. |
Monday
4 August 2002
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Activities
2002:
The
Role of Civil Society Organizations in Jordan
and Palestine in Enhancing Sustainable Development:
Amman,
Marmara Hotel 5/1/2002.
The Jordanian Environmental Watch in collaboration
with the United Nation's Environmental Program
in Western Asia, and the Center for Sustainable
Development in Iran organized a consultation session
to discuss the role of the Civil Societies in
Jordan and Palestine in enhancing sustainable
development since the Rio De Janeiro 1992 Conference
on the Environment, and in preparation for the
International Summit on Sustainable Development
due in Johannesburg in September 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.
Top
Activities during 2000- 2001:
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 25/11/2002. 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:
The proceedings of the 5th Dialogue Session
of the Jordanian Environmental Watch Program,
focused on "Politics and the Environment. Several
issues related to the relationship between Politics
and the Environment were discussed including the
relationship between politics and the environment
on a local and international level, why environmental
issues have become international issues, and why
are environmental issues so high on the agenda,
locally and internationally.
Several cases and environmental problems were
discussed during this session, and the issues
of the environment in relation to development
were also touched upon, finally concluding that
environmental issues should be handled with a
positive attitude. Dr. Ramzi Bataineh, who was
the speaker during this session, indicated that
in order to better understand the specifics of
the relationship between Politics and the Environment,
we must begin with a comprehensive and deep awareness
of the interaction between the development process
and the environment, in addition to studying the
roles of a number of pressure groups, knowledgeable
societies, and donor entities.
3.
The National readiness for the International Sustainable
Development Summit:
The discussions of the Jordanian Environmental
watch program 4th dialogue session revolved around
the national readiness for the International Sustainable
Development Summit, which is due to be held in
September 2002 in Johannesburg/South Africa, and
which is attracting the attention of the entire
world.
The proceedings of the Session revolved around
Jordan's achievements since the Earth Summit of
1992 until today, and the work that Jordan must
completed before the 2002 Summit, how to coordinate
national efforts in order compile a comprehensive
report that includes the environmental problems,
challenges and achievements, and what is the required
role of the Government, Private Sector and Social
Society Organizations, in order to effectively
be prepared for this Summit.
4.
A Dialogue Session on "The Nuclear Accelerator
for the Synchrotron Lab:
This session which was held on 7/2/2001 in collaboration
between the "Jordanian Environmental Watch
Program" and the "Friend of the Environment
Society", focused on the Nuclear Accelerator
for the Synchrotron Lab that belongs to the
Balqa University and which is due to be set
up in the village of Ala'an and at the Princess
Rahma College. The participants discussed the
issue of the Accelerator in details in terms
of its characteristics, benefits, advantages,
the importance of such a scientifically advanced
facility in Jordan, and its role in the realization
of scientific progress. They also discussed
the reactions of the local community to the
presence of such a facility.
5.
A Dialogue Session on the "Toxic Waste
Shipment":
On Tuesday 12/12/2000, in collaboration with
the Jordanian Environmental Watch Program and
the "Land and Human to advocate progress"
a dialogue session was held to discuss the shipment
of hazardous waste that entered into the Jordanian
Territories, and which caused much concern to
all the different media in Jordan. The issue
of this shipment was discussed in details in
terms of its quality and quantity, and the different
procedures undertaken by the Government to handle
it, in addition to the health hazards of this
shipment, its impact on the environment, the
legal means, locally and internationally, involved
in such a situation, and the necessary measures
that need to be taken to ensure the country
remains free from such wastes.
6.
The Legislative and Administrative Framework
Required for Establishing a Ministry for the
Environment:
Held on 5/9/2000 in response to Royal directives
for setting up a ministry for the environment.
In line with the directives, a special committee
formulated the legal and organizational bases
for establishing the ministry and announced
its desire to receive recommendations and proposals
from specialist in the environmental field.
A report about the deliberations, discussions
and results of the workshop was presented to
the special committee.
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