By : JD
Jordan Daily – The EU-funded “Water and Environment Support (WES) in the ENI Neighbourhood South Region” project held its final consultation workshop on “Exploring the Potential of Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM) at the Catchment Scale” in Amman.
The workshop presented an overview of the national activity and the findings of the final screening of the NWRM, demonstrating the application of selected Best Management Practices and NWRMs in natural and peri-urban environments in arid or semi-arid areas with restricted area availability.
Key issues were discussed among representatives from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation of Jordan, government agencies, the EU Delegation to Jordan, donors, and local authorities. These included the designs of the NWRMs for the natural area in Azraq City and the urban/peri-urban area in Ajloun Town, the applicability of the selected measures in Jordan, alternative techniques, and the cost-benefit analysis of the application of the proposed NWRM in the two pilot areas.
The economic incentives and regulatory framework regarding Natural Water Retention Measures and storm/flood water management in the country were also discussed, along with the proposed guidelines/criteria for the selection of appropriate sites of retention and detention systems.
Participants agreed to consider a set of actions based on the recommendations of the activity that the country could implement beyond the duration of the WES project.
This concluding WES National activity will be followed by the launch of the Non-Revenue Water Policy for Jordan, in the context of the WES activity “Elaboration of Non-Revenue Water Policy for Jordan” and the WES National Meeting in Jordan on May 23, 2024.
Since October 2020, more than 230 Jordanian key stakeholders (65% men, 35% women) have participated in the 2 Water and 2 Environment National Activities, 12 Regional Activities (5 Environment & 7 Water), and 3 Horizontal Activities.
