$9.2 million project launched to tackle climate change

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Wednesday inaugurated a $9.2 million project to increase the resilience of poor and vulnerable communities to climate change.

The project is driven by the mounting pressure on clean water resources, which climate change will aggravate, Fakhoury said, noting that water shortages directly affect food security as two thirds of available water is used in agriculture.  

Funded by the Adaptation Fund of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the project will secure additional quantities of water for farmers through the efficient use of treated wastewater for irrigation and by preserving harvested rainwater in sand dams, a ministry statement said. 

The minister explained that reusing treated wastewater and harvesting rainwater would preserve the scarce underground water, adding that the project will apply a holistic approach to integrated water management in remote and arid areas. 

Wastewater treatment plants in Irbid, Shallala, Dogara, Tal Al Mantah, Northern Shuneh and Wadi Musa will be improved, Fakhoury said.

In addition, the project will increase the income of more than 600 households in targeted areas of the Jordan Valley and Wadi Musa, he noted, as new technologies will be introduced that will lower the costs of production inputs for farmers and improve soil fertility.

Residents of arid areas will be provided with effective, unique and simple climate change adaptation systems, like drip, sprinkle and micro irrigation techniques, according to the minister.

Meanwhile, some 48 farms will benefit from integrated agricultural technologies, the minister said, adding that more than 50 cooperative societies would receive training on the safe use of treated wastewater. 

Pure water resources will be dedicated to drinking and similarly important purposes, he added. 

The project also seeks to revisit policies to support adaptation to climate change, and to increase the awareness of farmers and their ability to deal with the effect of the phenomenon, the ministry statement said. 

A drought early warning system will be installed and a database of farmers and civil society institutions will be compiled, Fakhoury said, adding that an awareness campaign will target impoverished farming communities to share knowledge with farmers. 

The project is in line with the Jordan 2025 economic blueprint, the Water Sector Strategy and the National Strategy for Agricultural Development, as well as the international development agenda and the outcomes of the Paris climate conference, the ministry said. 

Fakhoury said the success of the project will be replicated in other regions, noting that it will attract more donor funding as climate change is at the top of the global agenda. 

“We hope that all partners and executive parties attach great importance to this project, proportional to its major development goals,” he said.