The EU funded “Water and Environment Support (WES) in the ENI Neighbourhood South Region” project in cooperation with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation of Jordan organised a WES National Meeting on the 23^rd of May 2024 in Amman, to present an overview of WES Activities implemented in Jordan and discuss the way forward.

Since October 2020, more than 230 key Jordanian stakeholders have gained valuable knowledge and experience by actively participating in 4 National Activities (2 for the environment and 2 for the water sector), 12 Regional and 5 Horizontal WES Activities.

The event was honored by H.E. Mr. Jihad Mahameed, Secretary General of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, who in his opening speech, underlined the fact that WES has assisted the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in the elaboration of a Non-Revenue Water (NRW) policy: “A policy that clearly defines rules for the development and implementation of NRW, reduction and control, goals that are consistent with the proposition of Jordan’s national strategy for NRW. In fact, both national WES water activities were designed to be aligned with national strategies addressing critical issues.”

Mr. Omar Abu Eid, Energy, Environment & Climate Change Programme Manager, Cooperation Section of the European Delegation to Jordan, emphasized the role of the EU-funded WES project, in the design and delivery of regional state-of-the-art capacity building activities in the field of water and environment, with active participation of Jordanian stakeholders, exchanging experiences and lessons learned with colleagues and experts from the EU and other Partner Countries.

The results of WES Water and Environment National Activities in the country have been indeed significant.

Under the Water Activities  WES supported Consultations Workshops; the elaboration of a Non-Revenue Water Policy and design of Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM); Guides for the selection of appropriate locations for retention and detention systems, as well as a regulation framework for promoting NWRM and Cost – Benefit analyses of adopting such measures.

WES Water Activity  on the “Elaboration of non-revenue water (NRW) policy for Jordan”

WES is proud to have assisted the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation in the elaboration of a NRW policy that builds on the real situation and lessons learnt from pilot projects and other works in Jordan. The policy document, which represents a collaborative effort between the main actors in the water sector, provides guidance and recommendations for a comprehensive and sustainable NRW management in the Jordanian water sector, in order to achieve the national goals for reduced and sustained NRW –  consistent with the proposition of Jordan’s national strategy for NRW and  its action plan.

WES Water Activity on  “Exploring the potential of Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM) at the catchment scale”

The activity identified appropriate Natural Water Retention Measures to be implemented in two pilot zones in Jordan,  one natural area located in the Azraq catchment and another peri-urban area in Ajloun town. The activity enhanced the knowledge of key water stakeholders on NWRM, including storm water management (benefiting from Nature Based Solutions) in peri-urban areas as well as in rural/natural areas.

The WES Environment Activities were completed and celebrated one year ago. They included technical assistance and consultations; the elaboration of a Roadmap to address Single Use Plastic items in the country, as well as Recommendations on green banking and green investment opportunities to curb plastic waste in Jordan with emphasis on SUPs. A very successful consultation workshop was organized on the 17^thof May 2023 in Amman, to present the two documents and discuss them with key stakeholders.

WES Environment Activity on “Contribution to the development of a joint public-private roadmap to reduce the use of Single-Use Plastics (SUPs)”

WES provided support to the country’s green and circular economy agenda by developing a Roadmap for the country to minimize the use of SUPs at household and commercial levels. An overview of the current situation in Jordan on the use of plastics with emphasis on SUPs was  provided, along with the environmental impacts of SUPs and an overview of potential sustainable alternatives to SUPs. Applicable l measures with a timetable for the transition away from the use of SUPs were the core elements of the Roadmap.

WES Environment Activity on “Consolidation activities on green banking and support to green investment opportunities to curb plastic waste”

The activity supported the Ministry of Environment in the implementation of the Green Economy roadmap and green investment opportunities in the waste sector in Jordan by focusing on the issues of Single-Use Plastics and promotion of Green Banking. The Recommendations for stakeholders on green banking and green investment opportunities in relation to plastic waste, revolve around three components of reform, namely: institutional, communication and education, and capacity building needs.

TBC Professor Michael Scoullos, WES Team Leader, expressed the deep satisfaction of the WES Project with the long-standing close cooperation with the Jordanian Authorities and the EU Delegation to Jordan, resulting in fit-for-purpose assistance to the country to advance its water and environment agendas.

Prof. Scoullos thanked both Mr. Ahmad Bali WES Water Focal Point and Head of Planning of Water Demand Department, Ministry of Water and Irrigation for their valuable contribution in the successful implementation of the WES activities.

More than 50 representatives of Ministries, Institutions and Agencies involved in water and environment issues, as well as representatives of Local Authorities, the private sector, NGIS, experts, associations, and media participated in this National Meeting and contributed to the discussion on  priorities and the way forward.