WADI: science-based practices to foster ethical water conservation in Jordan

17 June 2019. Amman, Jordan.  Funded by the US Forest Service and US State Department Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, the NGO will use science-based practices to foster ethical water conservation and land stewardship projects. 

WADI will work through local partnerships with the Hashemite Fund for the Development of Jordan Badia, the Ministry of Agriculture, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Royal Botanic Garden, ICARDA and the Greater Amman Municipality to implement projects.

During the launch ceremony in Amman, the Chairperson of the Hashemite Fund for the Development of the Jordan Badia HH Sharifa Zein Bint Nasser and WADI staff members planted  seedlings to mark the project’s launch. In 2015, more than 92 per cent of the Kingdom’s rainwater evaporated, according to WADI's Natural Resources Officer Suad Hammoudeh, leaving only a small portion to seep into underground basins. 

WADI was born out of USAID’s Sustainable Environment and Economic Development Project, also known as ‘SEED’. In the coming years with the WADI project, local communities will participate directly in watershed restoration efforts through shared ownership. Women and youth will play an important role too, as part of the WADI’s special outreach training and employment opportunities for Jordan's underserved populations.

Further reference:

18/06 Jordan Times. NGO launched to involve residents in land restoration, management

For more information, please contact Mira Haddad, Senior Research Assistant - Spatial Analyses and Database Management  (ICARDA) [email protected] and Stefan Martin Strohmeier, Associate Scientist - Soil and Water Conservation  (ICARDA) [email protected]