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The State of the Environment in Jordan 2000 -2001. The
first annual report on the environment in Jordan
The Jordanian Environmental Watch Program started
this large project at the beginning of 2000; the completed
publication consists of two hundred sixty seven pages
and divided into three sections. The first section gives
detailed analysis of various environmental issues effecting
Jordan. These is include the natural environment, environmental
legislation and policy, water resources management,
biodiversity and wildlife, agriculture and land use,
the interrelationships between industry, energy and
the environment, air quality, eco-tourism, coastal zones
and marine life and solid and hazardous waste in Jordan.
The second section contains a list of events and different
environmental issues found in recent news articles on
the environment from the country's three major daily
newspapers. In the third section there is a directory
of environmental organisations working in Jordan. The
organisations is placed under four categories; those
organisations that are run by the Jordanian Government
(including Ministries and Governmental offices interested
in the environment), those that are institutions such
as Universities and Centers specialising in the environment
and water, those that are Non-Governmental Organisations
and Civil Society Organisations that rely on outside
funding, and finally those that are foreign based institutions
with regional offices in Jordan.
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Recent Publications
The
"Environmental Papers" Series
Paper No. (1)
Development and the Environment: The impact of globalization
and Free Trade on the Environment in Jordan:
This edition which contains the paper presented at the
1st Jordanian Conference for the Environment and Development,
the Union of Jordanian Geologists from 5-7 November
2000 organized the conference.
This paper discussed the impact of liberalizing international
trade and globalization on the Jordanian Environment
in particular, and determined the anticipated impact
of Jordan's Free Trade Agreement with the USA, Jordan's
accession to the World Trade Organization and the Joint
Partnership between Jordan and the European Union.
The paper also discussed the contradiction between the
Environment and Globalization that has surfaced recently
and which was included in the Environmental Speech made
during the Seattle protests.
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Paper
No. (2)
The Environmental Media in Jordan and the Challenges
of The 21st Century:
This edition includes a summary of a working paper
that was presented at the 1st Jordanian conference
on the Environment and Development, which was held
on October 29th-31st, 2000, and which was organized
by the General corperation for the environmental protection.
This working paper discussed the status quo of the
environmental media in Jordan, by illustrating the
most important media and environment activities and
analyzing the contents of the articles published in
the daily newspapers during the month of September
related to environmental issues. It concluded that
the media coverage of environmental issues in local
newspapers is directly proportional to the number
of pages in these newspapers and that these articles
mainly concentrate on local environmental issues,
particularly the water.
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Paper
No. (3)
The
Ministry of Environment in Jordan: The required Legal
and Administrative Framework for the establishment
of a Ministry of Environment:
This edition comprises the proceedings of the Discussion
Session organized by the Jordanian Environmental watch
program on 5/9/2000, during which the need for a Ministry
of Environment was discussed. The recommendations
and viewpoints resulting from this session were relayed
to the Committee commissioned to devise the legal
and administrative framework for the proposed Ministry.
The Session also resulted in the publication of a
General Report containing the proceedings of the session.
Paper No. (4)
The hazardous Waste Shipment: Israeli hazardous Waste
Enters the Jordanian Territories:
This edition contains the proceedings of a dialogue
session of the Hot Environmental Issues Forum, which
was held in collaboration with the Jordanian Environmental
watch program, and the "Land and Human to advocate progress".
During this session discussions revolved around the
issue of the Hazardous Waste Shipment which entered
Jordan from Israel. The shipment was discussed in details
in terms of its quantity and quality, its affect on
public health and safety, and the legal means and procedures
of preventing the occurrence of similar episodes, in
addition to the role of the media and the Jordanian
Environmental Organizations in handling such a situation,
and that of the Custom's official in detecting such
shipments and how they should return them to their country
of origin.
Paper No. (5)
The Nuclear Accelerator for the Synchrotron Lab:A
Science Facility presented to Jordan by UNESCO:
This edition comprises the proceedings of a session
at the Hot Environmental Issues Forum that was held
in collaboration with the Jordanian Environmental watch
program and Friends of Environment Society. Discussions
revolved around the characteristics of this Accelerator,
its advantages and benefits, and how Jordan acquired
it. The Forum also discussed the precautionary measures
that should be taken to prevent any dangers that could
result from it, in addition to the local community's
attitude towards the establishment of the Accelerator,
particularly the residents of the village of Ala'an
where the Accelerator is going to be set up.
Paper No. (6)
The Environmental Portfolio of the Jordan-USA Free
Trade Agreement:
This paper, published in English, presented a complete
analysis of the Environmental Portfolio of the Free
Trade Agreement between Jordan and the USA which was
signed on October 24, 2000, and discussed its impact
on the Jordanian Environment in 9 Sectors. The paper
concluded that the implementation of this Agreement
will result in an expansion of investment and commercial
activity which will lead to more exploitation of the
natural resources and an increase in pollution and waste
products.
The paper also discussed the text in the Agreement that
is related to the environment, and found that despite
the fact that this Agreement is the first of its kind,
it still includes provisions that stipulate handling
environmental issues in accordance with local laws only.
Paper No. (7)
The Future of Climatic Change an the Scientific,
Political and Economic implications of the USA's withdrawal
from the Kyoto Protocol:
This paper discusses the Scientific, Economic and political
implications of the USA's withdrawal from the Quito
Agreement for the decrease of Carbon emissions by the
year 2012. The paper also analyzes Climatic Change and
its scientific basis, in addition to the chronological
series of International Agreements that serve to limit
this phenomenon. It also looks into the reasons that
led to the failure of the Hague Conference and the major
disagreements between the USA and the European Union.
Other major points included in this paper are the most
important conclusion of the Report presented by the
Joint Government Committee of Climatic Change in February
2001, and the most important impacts of climatic change
on the Middle East region.
Paper No. (8)
The International Environmental Policy From Stokholm
1972 to Rio 1992, and Agenda 21:
This paper describes and analyzes a book entitled "The
International Environmental Policy" by Dr. Jassem
Al-Hasan. This book examines the status of global environment,
following the UN Environment and Development Conference
in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) in 1992, and concentrates
on means to save the globe, and the different viewpoints
of the various countries towards this process.
The book talk about internationalizing the Environment
Program, and focuses on two very important events in
this process: The UN Human Environment Conference (Stockholm
1972) and the UN Environment and Development Conference
(Rio de Janeiro 1992). And deals with what is known
as the Stockholm Program.
Book also examines the Environmental Organizations that
are currently operational, in terms of their effectiveness,
or the extent of international cooperation of the powerful
nations.
Paper No. (9)
The World Summit on Sustainable Development An Information
Guide on the World Summit on Sustainable Development:
This paper describes the development of the international
environmental management methodologies, within the framework
of the united Nations, which were unleashed during the
Stockholm Conference on Human Environment in 1972, followed
by the Prontland Committee Report in 1987, which launched
for the first time the concept of "sustainable
development", and the Earth Summit (Rio 1992),
in addition to the numerous International Environment
Declarations. This paper focuses on the local methodology
implemented in preparation for the forthcoming Summit,
which is being held on the 10th Anniversary of the first
Earth Summit.
Paper No. (10)
The Methodology of National Preparatory Activities
for the World Summit on Sustainable Development:
This paper incorporates the proceedings of the 4th Dialogue
Session of the Jordanian Environmental Watch program
on the National Preparatory activities for the World
Summit on Sustainable Development due in Johannesburg
/ South Africa in September 2002, and which is the center
of attention of the entire world.
During this session Jordan's achievements since 1992
until today in the field of sustainable development
were discussed, in addition to the tasks that still
need to be completed prior to the forthcoming Summit.
The attendees also discussed the importance of coordinating
all national efforts in order to attain a report that
comprises all the environmental problems, challenges
and achievements, in addition to the role the Government,
Private Sector and Civil Society Organizations must
play in order to ensure maximum efficacy in preparation
for this Summit.
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Paper
No. (11)
Jordan and Arab world in the environmental sustainability
index 2001:
This
paper contains a brief summery of the results of world
Economic Forum for the sustainability indicators in
the world 2001. The indicator of sustainable development
is the numerical measurement of the progress that
a country has made in the process of sustainable development.
In a survey of 122 countries the three countries with
the highest value of this indicator were Finland,
Norway and Canada, thus ranking as the (3) most developed
countries in the world during the year 2001, while
the (3) rated last on the list were Haiti, Saudi Arabia,
and Burundi, with countries like Ghana and Honduras
ranking somewhere in between. The value of the sustainable
development indicator indicate the extent of success
that a country has had in the field of sustainable
development, while a low number indicates that a country
is facing major problems in attaining success in realizing
sustainable development.
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Paper
No. (12)
Environmental politics:
This
paper incorporates the proceedings of the 5th Dialogue
Session of the Jordanian Environmental watch program,
that focused on "Politics and the Environment:
The Theoretical Framework", 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 This was obvious in the case of mining for
copper ore in the Dana Natural Reserve, whereby the
Royal Society in cooperation with the Natural Resources
Authority proved that this project was not economically
feasible. There are also other examples, like the extraction
of Gypsum ores from the Mujeb Reserve, and building
a water dam on the outskirts of the Mujeb Natural Reserve.
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Paper
No.(13)
From Seattle to Doha: The Environmental Portfolio
of the WTO:
This
paper discusses and analyzes the environmental chapter
of the World Trade Organization, by following up on
the predisposition to support globalization, as was
apparent in Seattle during the 3rd Ministerial Conference
of the WTO, through to the 4th Conference in November
2001, in Doha.
The
paper explains the link between trade, the environment
and development, the paper also stresses the importance
of the Doha Ministerial Conference, and illustrates
the conflict in opinions between industrial countries
and developing ones on issues that were discussed and
the draft of the final statement.
this paper also presents an analysis of the concept
of environment in the Ministerial Declaration of the
final statement of the Conference and the extent of
its impact on future negotiations related to the liberating
of trade.
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Paper
No. (14)
The expected environmental impacts of Establishing
Aqaba special economic zone authority:
The
paper analyzes the potential environmental impacts
on Aqaba region after turning Aqaba it into a special
economic zone. The Aqaba special economic zone law
was passed by parliament in August 2000.
A
number of scoping sessions were held in Aqaba and
Amman. In the sessions, the stakeholders were asked
to identify the significant environment issues, provide
input on potential constraints area that should be
avoided and protected. The scoping sessions are aimed
to offer an opportunity for a wider scope of environmental
analysis before investment opportunities have been
determined, and to support the integration of environmental
concerns into long-term development and investment
planning.
The
paper discusses also the issues raised, within three
categories of social and economic settings, natural
environment and the built environment. They were allocated
to the different master plan components to which they
are significant, and listed a number of recommendations
for each issue, in order to decrease the proposed
negative impacts or to eliminate it totally.
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Annual Report:
"
The State of the Environment in Jordan 2000-2001".
This is the first Annual Report on the State of the
Environment in Jordan, tackling all the various components
related to the environment and water and covering
the year 2000. The report, which took about 18 months
for preparation and documentation, is the outcome
of the tireless efforts of the researchers at the
Jordanian Environmental Watch Program (JEWP).
This report is important, as it is the first, attempt
by a non-governmental organization (NGO), to discuss
environmental issues in a comprehensive, objective
and independent manner. The time of its publication
is also relevant, because it coincides with the launching
of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development,
a National Agenda, and the beginning of Jordan's preparatory
efforts for the International Summit on Sustainable
Development due in South Africa in 2002.
Al-Urdun
Al-Jadid Research Center and the Jordanian Environmental
Watch anticipate the publication of such a report
on an annual basis, and hope that its contents will
serve the various national efforts that aim to provide
relevant information to all those working in the field
of environment and sustainable development.
Number of Pages: 262.
Prepared by: Batir Wardam & Amal Al-Dababseh.
Date of publishing: September 2001.
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