Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Overcoming the Challenges
Recognising the threat environmental problems posed to the country, the Jordanian Parlia-
ment passed the Protection of the Environment Law in 1995 as part of an impressive com-
mitment to environmental protection. This included measures banning hunting and re-
stricting grazing. At Dana Nature Reserve, for example, grazing within the protected area
is permitted only at certain times of year.
The chief part of the environmental strategy, however, has focused on addressing the
water issue. Jordan's farmers (comprising around 5% of the population) use 75% of the
water (quite often inefficiently), so modernising farming practices and plugging leaks in
city pipelines has been the priority of the decade. More radical approaches have included
the extraction of non-renewable fossil water from aquifers near Wadi Rum and controver-
sial plans to construct a series of desalination plants, hydroelectric power stations and
canals linking the Red Sea with the Dead Sea (see the boxed text,
Click here
)
, thereby
raising the level of the Dead Sea and creating a fresh water supply. If the looming water
crisis is not resolved swiftly, many commentators predict that 'water wars' will replace oil
crises as the major source of conflict in the near future.
