FAO launches project to control, manage forest fires in Jordan

AMMAN — The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday launched a project to address the country’s technical capacity needs and support in regards to forest fire management.

In line with a technical cooperation agreement signed between the two parties in early January, FAO conducted an inception workshop to acquaint stakeholders and programme partners with the scope and outlines of the project titled: “Enhancing the capacity of the forestry sector to control and manage forest fires in Jordan”. 

The workshop also covers the implementation strategy and work plan, according to a FAO statement.

Agriculture Minister Khalid Hneifat and a group of stakeholders and government partners attended the meeting.

Forest fires are a growing problem in Jordan as they increasingly affect the limited forest cover in Jordan and local communities’ livelihoods and safety, the statement said. 

Forestry Department (FD) data show a gradual increase in the forest fires and impacted area during the past 20 years, with increasing forest fire frequency and severity.

The project will improve the sector’s capacity and contribute to the national development process to conserve and sustainably manage Jordan forest resources and ecosystems with involvement of key stakeholders to better contribute to biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction, food security, arresting desertification and land degradation and climate change effects, the statement said.

Hneifat said that “the development of the forestry sector is a basic requirement for Jordan, and the protection of forests is an urgent necessity, especially since the percentage of forests in Jordan does not exceed 1 per cent of the Kingdom’s area”.

Nabil Assaf, FAO Representative in Jordan said: “FAO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture/Forestry Department and experts in Rome and the Regional Office, has responded to the request of the MoA to support the national efforts in controlling forest fires and alleviate their effects by offering a $100,000 Technical Cooperation Project Facility (TCPF) to improve the sector’s capacity.”

Assaf said that the project would also “contribute to the national development process to conserve and sustainably manage Jordan forest resources and ecosystems with involvement of key stakeholders to better contribute to biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction, food security, arresting desertification and land degradation and climate change effects”.

Forest protection is a pillar of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”.