At the same time, the river will act as a natural water carrier and source of water supply in the Jordan Valley. 2020 goal: Preparation for sustainable water management and supply in the Jordan Valley, including ecological rehabilitation of the Jordan River. 2020 Goal: Development of a solid foundation for the protection of cultural heritage and tourism development in the Jordan Valley.
Pollution Control and Sanitation Interventions
Lay a solid foundation for a new waste management system in the Palestinian part of the Jordan Valley. Analysis of the current state of solid waste management (collection, transfer, transport and disposal and recycling). Investigate the vulnerability of the study area to pollution (taking into account groundwater, surface water and soil).
Sustainable Water Management and River Rehabilitation
This project will have a direct impact on the sustainable development of the Jordan Valley through optimized coordination and exchange of relevant information. This project will have a direct impact on the sustainability of the Jordan River Valley due to the mitigation of the discharge of contaminated sewage from cesspools into the environment. This pilot project will have a direct impact on the sustainability of the Jordan River Valley due to the reuse of wastewater for agricultural purposes.
Sustainable Agriculture
Improve operation and maintenance of drip irrigation systems in the southern part of the lower Jordan River Valley. Strengthen the Jordan Valley Authority in its role as the authority and regulator of agricultural water supply in the Jordan Valley. Strengthen the JVA's role in WUA in the Jordan Valley (less detailed control, more efficiency).
The project will increase the availability of land for irrigation and increase the sustainability of agricultural activities in the area. The project will be sustainable and will enrich the sustainability of agricultural activities in the study area through increasing the capacities of the agricultural community and advancing knowledge. NGOs working on community development in the Jordan Valley/West Bank (facilitating municipal initiatives).
Call for proposals from financial institutions to manage the credit program in all groups in the West Bank of the lower Jordan Valley. Promotion of savings and credit groups in rural farming communities farming in the lower Jordan Valley. Create research capacities for the development and certification of Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) systems (integrated and organic agriculture) in the lower Jordan Valley.
The project will increase the availability of land and provide new jobs, thus increasing the sustainability of agricultural activities in the area.
Lower Jordan Basin Governance
Creation of a single Palestinian entity responsible for development planning and regulation of the Jordan Valley. Intervention: Establish the Jordan Valley Authority, responsible for coordinating development plans for the Jordan Valley, which consists of public-private management systems and civil society management systems. This program will include an assessment of the institutional needs to develop this organization as an authority and overseer of the Palestinian Jordan Valley.
Obtaining local consensus and coordination with the Ministry of Local Government, as well as the Office of the President and other relevant ministries and government authorities. Preparation of the legal framework for the creation, by-laws and presidential decree for members of the governing body.
Ecological Rehabilitation
This project will have a direct positive impact on the sustainability of the Jordan Valley by restoring the green character of the river. Recreate the water structure of the Jordan to the best possible level, depending on the quantity and quality of the water flow in the river. Make a detailed assessment of the nature and ecological status of the lower Jordan Valley, including the natural areas previously designated by the Israeli military authorities in the West Bank.
Accreditation of the Lower Jordan River Valley under UNESCO World Heritage, Ramsar and IUCN protected area categories. Ecological restoration of the section of the Jordan River between the Sea of Galilee to Naharayim and the Bezeq stream. Of particular significance for the eastern part of the lower Jordan River valley are the Ceratonia siliqua in the north and the Acacia raddiana and Salvadora in the south.
Protecting and restoring the natural flora structure of subwatershed ecosystems within the eastern Lower Jordan River watershed, particularly around dams and side valleys. Restore the wetland and aquatic structure in the valleys that drain into the lower Jordan and Yarmouk rivers. This intervention is intended to create a balanced ecological system in which wildlife and aquatic fauna are reintroduced into all relevant elements of the lower Jordan River Valley.
Restore the population of endangered reptiles of the lower Jordan River such as Natrix tessellata and Amphibian Hyla Savignyi.
Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Heritage Development
Partial use of hospitality potential and increase in overnight stays in the Jordan Valley as well as in Palestine. Partial use of hospitality potential and increase in overnight stays in the Jordan Valley as well as in Palestine. Preparation and presentation of tourist attractions in the southern Palestinian part of the Jordan Valley for tourism (internal and domestic).
Preparation and presentation of tourist attractions in the southern Palestinian part of the Jordan Valley to the tourism industry (internal and domestic). Partial use of hospitality potentials and increased overnight stays in the Jordan Valley as well as in Palestine. Preparation and presentation of the Palestinian middle part of the Jordan Valley to the tourism industry (domestic and domestic).
Prepare and present the Palestinian northern part of the Jordan Valley to the tourism industry (inbound and inbound). Partial use of catering potential and increase in the number of overnight stays both in the Jordan Valley and in Palestine. Partial use of the catering potential and increase in the number of overnight stays in the Jordan Valley and Palestine.
Prepare and introduce the Palestinian northern and middle parts of the Jordan Valley to the tourism industry (internal and inbound). Other Notes: These services are currently not available in the northern part of the Jordan Valley. Prepare and introduce the Palestinian North of the Jordan Valley diverse services to the tourism industry (domestic and inbound).
Sustainable Urban, Energy and Infrastructure Development
Develop a regional coordination structure or steering committee among key Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian government stakeholders to implement proposed national and regional interventions in the Jordan Valley related to urban and infrastructure development. The committee will eventually be integrated into the structures of the entire Jordan River Basin Organization (ref. intervention IC01 REG Jordan River Basin Organization). This center is currently based on knowledge and experience developed in Israel and serves Israeli farmers in the Jordan Valley.
Expand this center to benefit all farmers in the lower Jordan River Valley, including Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian farmers. Establish a university in the lower Jordan Valley to accommodate (future) 600,000 residents and to use practical training from training to meet development needs of the growing population, including agricultural and environmental research. Name: U3 PAL - School Building Program Location: Lower Jordaan Valley Type of intervention: Planning and Construction.
Establish a university in the northern Jordan Valley to house residents and utilize hands-on education and training to meet the development needs of the growing population, including agricultural and environmental research. Assess the needs for healthcare services in the lower Jordan Valley, plan the establishment of healthcare centers and identify existing ones. Expand the power grid to cover all residential areas in the Jordan Valley to ensure universal access to electricity.
Establish a logistics consolidation center in the Jordan Valley to facilitate the export and import of goods to, from and through Jordan.
List of Literature
International Water Management Institute (Rémy, Courcier, et al.), 2005: Historic Transformations of the Lower Jordan River Basin: Changes in Water Use and Projections. Hötzl, H.; Möller, P.; Rosenthal, E., 2009: The Water of the Jordan Valley: Scarcity and Deterioration of Groundwater and its Impact on the Regional Development (Springer Publishers): 531 pp. Towards a Living Jordan River: An Environmental Flows Report on the Rehabilitation of Nedre Jordan-floden.
Goren, M.; Ortal, R., 1999: "Biogeography, Diversity and Conservation of the Inland Water Fish Communities in Israel", in:Biological Conservation, 89: 1–9. Lynch, W.F., 1849: Narrative of the United States Expedition to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. Main, C.T., 1953: The unified development of the water resources of the Jordan Valley region (Boston, Massachusetts.
South Jordan Drainage Authority Baseline Report Landscape and Surroundings Review - Current Status (July 2012, Aliza Rapoport-Rotman). Gherardi, F.; Micheli, 1989: "Relative growth and population structure of the freshwater crayfish, Potamon Potamios Palestinensis, in the Dead Sea area (Israel)", in: Israel Journal of Zoology. NCARTT, 2005: Conservation and sustainable use of dryland agrobiodiversity in Jordan: highlights of project achievements”.
GLOWA, 2008: “An integrated approach to the sustainable management of Jordan's water resources under global change”.
WEAP Model Scheme
Jeroen Kool, graduated as a Geophysicist at the University of Utrecht, has built up a broad professional experience as a project director and strategic advisor in the water management and environmental sectors in the Netherlands, Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia. Kool is strategic advisor at Royal HaskoningDHV and board member of the HaskoningDHV Foundation (http://www.royalhaskoningdhv.com). He is also chairman of the Water Partner Foundation and ambassador of the Dutch Water Museum.
Kool published and presented various papers at international conferences in Geneva, Amman, Jerusalem, Kyoto, Damascus, Montreal, Amsterdam and The Hague. EcoPeace Middle East—Overview and Current Projects EcoPeace Middle East, established in 1994, is a Palestinian-Israeli-Jordanian organization dedicated to environmental peacebuilding. EcoPeace seeks to promote the creation of necessary conditions for lasting peace and sustainable regional development, mostly through mutual concern for the region's shared water resources.
As such, EcoPeace works to improve the quality of life for all individuals alike through advocacy for the rights of communities affected by unsustainable environmental management. EcoPeace believes that a more equitable sharing of water resources and a coordinated regional response to water scarcity is necessary for economic stability and improved livelihoods for all in the region. Awareness on all sides of the limitations and sensitivities of these shared water resources is a prerequisite for understanding and addressing threats to sustainability for all peoples in the region.
This campaign, launched in November 2012, raises awareness targeting the public and decision makers in Israel and Palestine of the urgency to resolve shared water issues.
