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Jordan: Water Scarcity: Difference between revisions
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It has very few rivers: the Euphrates and the Tigris are very important sources of water for the whole region, while the shrinking levels of the Jordan and its tributaries are of use to the west of the region only. | It has very few rivers: the Euphrates and the Tigris are very important sources of water for the whole region, while the shrinking levels of the Jordan and its tributaries are of use to the west of the region only. | ||
Relative decline of water supplies due to more frequent droughts and the burgeoning population has increased political conflict. It is expected that the population of countries in the Arabian Peninsula, for example, will double over the next 50 years to 600 million. Some of these countries are already extracting over 75% of their total renewable water resources. <ref name="Medina" /> Israel has about 300 m3 of fresh water per person per year and Kuwait a mere 1 m3, while in the Gaza Strip in Palestine it is estimated that 90% of the local water supply is undrinkable as a result of pollution and increased salinity. <ref name="Alqadi" /> This problem is aggravated by the continuing historical tensions between the Arabs and the Israelis. Tensions over water even played a part in the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 due to a dispute over the diversion of the River Jordan and the sabotage of water pipelines<ref name="Black"> Black, Emily. "Water and society in Jordan and Israel today: an introductory overview." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 368.1931 (2010): 5111-5116.</ref>; the post-war gains of Israel provided it with control over the headwaters of the Jordan and the aquifers of the West Bank and hence strengthened its overall geostrategic position in the region. <ref name="Alqadi" /> But despite such conflicts, water can also serve as a point of agreement; the Israeli-Palestine water commission, for example, is the only joint committee created by the Oslo Agreement that still exists today, while Israel and Jordan have worked together for years on managing the Sea of Galilee located in Israel but near the Yarmuk River, which demarcates the border between the two countries. <ref name="Black" /> | Relative decline of water supplies due to more frequent droughts and the burgeoning population has increased political conflict. It is expected that the population of countries in the Arabian Peninsula, for example, will double over the next 50 years to 600 million. Some of these countries are already extracting over 75% of their total renewable water resources. <ref name="Medina" /> Israel has about 300 m3 of fresh water per person per year and Kuwait a mere 1 m3, while in the Gaza Strip in Palestine it is estimated that 90% of the local water supply is undrinkable as a result of pollution and increased salinity. <ref name="Alqadi" /> This problem is aggravated by the continuing historical tensions between the Arabs and the Israelis. Tensions over water even played a part in the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 due to a dispute over the diversion of the River Jordan and the sabotage of water pipelines<ref name="Black"> Black, Emily. "Water and society in Jordan and Israel today: an introductory overview." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 368.1931 (2010): 5111-5116.</ref>; the post-war gains of Israel provided it with control over the headwaters of the Jordan and the aquifers of the West Bank and hence strengthened its overall geostrategic position in the region. <ref name="Alqadi" /> But despite such conflicts, water can also serve as a point of agreement; the Israeli-Palestine water commission, for example, is the only joint committee created by the [[wikipedia:en:Oslo I Accord|Oslo Agreement]] that still exists today, while Israel and Jordan have worked together for years on managing the Sea of Galilee located in Israel but near the Yarmuk River, which demarcates the border between the two countries. <ref name="Black" /> | ||
==Water in Jordan== | ==Water in Jordan== | ||
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===Waste water resources=== | ===Waste water resources=== | ||
As of 2006, there were 16 wastewater treatment plants in Jordan, which provide an additional water resource for the country’s use. Because of Jordan’s topography and the location of the vast majority of its urban population above the Jordan Valley, most treated wastewater flows downstream into the Valley, where it is used for irrigation purposes.<ref name="Mohsen" />. Currently, around 80 MCM is used for irrigation<ref name="Kubursi" />, but the Jordanian government envisages 232 MCM of wastewater used for irrigation by 2020. <ref name="Mohsen" /> | As of 2006, there were 16 wastewater treatment plants in Jordan, which provide an additional water resource for the country’s use. Because of Jordan’s topography and the location of the vast majority of its urban population above the [[wikipedia:en:Jordan Valley|Jordan Valley]], most treated wastewater flows downstream into the Valley, where it is used for irrigation purposes.<ref name="Mohsen" />. Currently, around 80 MCM is used for irrigation<ref name="Kubursi" />, but the Jordanian government envisages 232 MCM of wastewater used for irrigation by 2020. <ref name="Mohsen" /> | ||
==Supply and demand== | ==Supply and demand== | ||
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==Water scarcity as a barrier to sustainable development== | ==Water scarcity as a barrier to sustainable development== | ||
===Environment and population pressure=== | ===Environment and population pressure=== | ||
Over drawing on aquifers has led to the drying up of a large percentage of aquatic ecosystems in Jordan. The Azraq Oasis – a wetland of international renown – dried up in 1985 as a result of its over exploitation for domestic and agricultural purposes.<ref name="Mohsen" /> Growth in human settlements has adversely affected natural streams and springs and often led to their extinction through overuse. To make up for the loss, wells were dug to extract renewable and non-renewable groundwater, but which has led to a reduction in the water table and increased salinity, while wastewater from human activity has resulted in contamination of groundwater resources. [[File:Palestinian refugees.jpg|thumb|left|Palestinian refugees making their way from Galilee in October–November 1948]] | Over drawing on aquifers has led to the drying up of a large percentage of aquatic ecosystems in Jordan. The [[wikipedia:en:Azraq Wetland Reserve|Azraq Oasis]] – a wetland of international renown – dried up in 1985 as a result of its over exploitation for domestic and agricultural purposes.<ref name="Mohsen" /> Growth in human settlements has adversely affected natural streams and springs and often led to their extinction through overuse. To make up for the loss, wells were dug to extract renewable and non-renewable groundwater, but which has led to a reduction in the water table and increased salinity, while wastewater from human activity has resulted in contamination of groundwater resources. [[File:Palestinian refugees.jpg|thumb|left|Palestinian refugees making their way from Galilee in October–November 1948]] | ||
At the same time we should be careful to remember, however, that it is not only Jordan’s natural birth rate that is producing high population growth, but rather the state’s generosity as a host to the many refugees fleeing the numerous conflicts in the region. According to planning figures published by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Jordan will be host to nearly 900,000 refugees by the end of 2013.<ref>UNHCR, 2013 UNHCR country operations profile – Jordan [online] [cit 5.11.2013] available from http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486566.html</ref> Nearly three million Palestinian refugees made Jordan their home after the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967, half a million Jordanian ex-patriates returned home after the First Gulf War of 1991, and a further half million Iraqis arrived after the Second Gulf War | At the same time we should be careful to remember, however, that it is not only Jordan’s natural birth rate that is producing high population growth, but rather the state’s generosity as a host to the many refugees fleeing the numerous conflicts in the region. According to planning figures published by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Jordan will be host to nearly 900,000 refugees by the end of 2013.<ref>UNHCR, 2013 UNHCR country operations profile – Jordan [online] [cit 5.11.2013] available from http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486566.html</ref> Nearly three million [[wikipedia:en:Palestinian refugee|Palestinian refugees]] made Jordan their home after the [[wikipedia:en:Arab–Israeli conflict|Arab-Israeli wars]] of [[wikipedia:en:1948 Arab–Israeli War|1948]] and [[wikipedia:en:Six-Day War|1967]], half a million Jordanian ex-patriates returned home after the [[wikipedia:en:Gulf War|First Gulf War of 1991]], and a further half million Iraqis arrived after the [[wikipedia:en:2003 invasion of Iraq|Second Gulf War of 2003]].<ref name="Kubursi" /> The Jordanian population currently stands at 6.3 million and is predicted to rise to 9.2 million by 2020. | ||
===Social=== | ===Social=== | ||
Water shortages obviously have marked effect on the living conditions of average Jordanians. Jordan has the lowest domestic water consumption in the Arab world, and moreover municipal demand has exceeded available supply since the mid-1980s. During the peak of summer, 85% of Jordanians live at the “hygienic brink”.<ref name="Mohsen" /> | Water shortages obviously have marked effect on the living conditions of average Jordanians. Jordan has the lowest domestic water consumption in the Arab world, and moreover municipal demand has exceeded available supply since the mid-1980s. During the peak of summer, 85% of Jordanians live at the “hygienic brink”.<ref name="Mohsen" /> | ||
As a developing nation, Jordan has few options to improve its overall water management infrastructure or diversify its economy, leading to a situation that has been compared to the ‘food politics’ of the United States, i.e. using shortages of a vital element in basic human survival to leverage a pro-American stance. <ref name="Mohsen" /> | As a developing nation, Jordan has few options to improve its overall water management infrastructure or diversify its economy, leading to a situation that has been compared to the ‘food politics’ of the United States, i.e. using shortages of a vital element in basic human survival to leverage a pro-American stance.<ref name="Mohsen" /> | ||
===Economic=== | ===Economic=== | ||
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Due to the chronic shortages of water, Jordanian industrial companies often rely on water delivered by tankers at huge cost. Others rely on their own private wells that they have to keep drilling deeper and deeper at great cost as the water table falls, in addition to having to filter extracted water that is high in salt content. As there is a widespread ban on drilling new wells, companies are frequently forced to relocate to localities where there are existing wells, but where the price of land is understandably far higher than normal. | Due to the chronic shortages of water, Jordanian industrial companies often rely on water delivered by tankers at huge cost. Others rely on their own private wells that they have to keep drilling deeper and deeper at great cost as the water table falls, in addition to having to filter extracted water that is high in salt content. As there is a widespread ban on drilling new wells, companies are frequently forced to relocate to localities where there are existing wells, but where the price of land is understandably far higher than normal. | ||
Economic development is therefore being held back in Jordan by the high cost of industrial production requiring large amounts of quality fresh water. It would hence seem more logical from a purely economic point of view to reallocate water resources from agriculture to industry where “productivity per unit of consumed water is 40 times higher…and the employment effect is 13 times higher”. <ref name="Mohsen" /> | Economic development is therefore being held back in Jordan by the high cost of industrial production requiring large amounts of quality fresh water. It would hence seem more logical from a purely economic point of view to reallocate water resources from agriculture to industry where “productivity per unit of consumed water is 40 times higher…and the employment effect is 13 times higher”.<ref name="Mohsen" /> | ||
==Resources== | ==Resources== | ||
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{{License cc|Andrew Barton}} | {{License cc|Andrew Barton}} | ||
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[[Category:Case studies]] | |||