US embassy cable - 05AMMAN4726

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 004726 
 
SIPDIS 
 
State pass USAID 
Interior for USGS/International and for BuRec/International 
EPA for International/Medearis 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV, EAID, OPRC, KGLB, IS, JO 
SUBJECT: Prime Minister Tells A/S Turner that Red-Dead is 
Key to Jordan's Water Future 
 
Ref: A) Amman 3364 B) Amman 3794 
 
1.  Summary: Prime Minister Badran told visiting OES 
Assistant Secretary John Turner on May 31 that Jordan needs 
the proposed "Red-Dead" water project to cope with its 
status as one of the world's most water-short countries. 
Jordan continues its drive to utilize every possible water 
source but the Jordan River and Dead Sea are feeling the 
pinch.  USAID is playing an important role in building and 
rehabilitating crucial water infrastructure.  End summary. 
 
Overview: Prime Minister, Environment Min., Jordan Valley 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
2.  OES A/S Turner visited Jordan May 30-June 1 for a field- 
oriented view of Jordan's water resources, especially in 
sensitive border regions next to Syria and Israel.  He met 
with Prime Minister Adnan Badran on May 31 and had an 
extensive tour on June 1 of the Zarka area north of Amman 
with Minister of Environment Khaled Irani.  Zarka is the 
site of one of USAID's real triumphs, the As-Samra 
wastewater treatment plant.  Turner also met Aqaba Special 
Economic Zone Authority Environment Commissioner Belal 
Bashir and visited two rural environmental projects created 
by the NGO Friends of the Earth Middle East. 
 
Prime Minister Leads Charge for Red-Dead 
---------------------------------------- 
3.  Prime Minister Adnan Badran, in office for less that two 
months at the time of his May 31 meeting with A/S Turner, 
said that environment is "so important," is "at the top of 
our agenda," and that his cabinet is making "a robust 
environmental effort."  His remarks have added credibility 
because Badran is a rarity, a lab scientist (in marine 
biology) who has reached the top ranks of government 
service, including a stint as the Deputy Director of UNESCO. 
 
4.  While noting that Jordan's management of water resources 
has improved over the years, PM Badran stressed the fact 
that Jordan remains one of the most water-short countries in 
the world.  He noted that Jordan is getting significant help 
from USAID to expand wastewater reuse and is trying to 
improve water quality throughout the Kingdom. 
 
5.  PM Badran's core message, however, was requesting USG 
support for the "Red-Dead" water project (Ref A) to take 
seawater from the Red Sea at Aqaba, desalinate up to 900 
million cubic meters per year and release the briny by- 
product into the Dead Sea to stop its 70 centimeter per year 
drop.  At another point in the meeting, when Turner asked 
how to increase water resources on the West Bank and in 
Gaza, the PM's response was simply "Red-Dead." 
 
AID As-Samra Wastewater Plant Helps Envir, Health, Econ 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
6.  On June 1, A/S Turner and Minister of Environment Khaled 
Irani visited USAID's flagship project in Jordan, a $169 
million upgrade to the As-Samra wastewater treatment plant 
north of Amman where the bulk of Amman's domestic wastewater 
is processed.  USAID contributed $78 million to a cutting- 
edge 18-party financial deal for the Build-Operate-Transfer 
(BOT) project.  The upgraded As-Samra plant will 
dramatically improve the quality of effluent from the 
facility, thus making the water available for reuse in 
agriculture.  This will improve environmental and health 
conditions along the Zarka River, will reduce pressure on 
the Kingdom's fresh water supplies, and will benefit 
agriculture by making more water available for irrigation. 
 
7.  A/S Turner and Minister Irani visited two sites 
downstream of As-Samra to see the current dismal state of 
the effluent as it flows into the Zarka River.  The Zarka 
River flows with foamy, dark green water that was being 
illegally pumped for irrigation before the eyes of Turner 
and Irani. 
 
8.  A/S Turner and Minister Irani gave interviews to print 
and television journalists at another stop next to a highly 
polluted stream strewn with tires.  A/S Turner emphasized 
the contributions of the U.S. Government and particularly of 
USAID in improving the quality of life of ordinary 
Jordanians.  Irani, during his interviews, noted the 
importance of the USAID assistance on water resource 
management and said that rehabilitating the Zarka River was 
one of his top priorities.  Two lengthy articles based on 
these interviews appeared in the Arabic press and one in the 
English-language "Jordan Times." 
 
Ministry Needs Strategy In Order to Become Proactive 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
9.  Minister of Environment Irani met A/S Turner at the 
Ministry of Environment (MOE) prior to the Zarka tour in 
order to review the MOE's current priorities.  Irani said 
that institutional reform is his most pressing need.  He 
wants the Ministry to have a strategy, clear priorities, and 
to become "proactive instead of reactive."  He provided an 
executive summary of an EU institutional reform project for 
the Ministry that will begin soon.  Irani was pleased to 
hear that progress is being made towards sending an EPA 
environmental economist to Jordan under the Free Trade 
Agreement and the Joint Environment Forum (Ref B).  Irani 
was effusive in his appreciation of USG and particularly 
USAID assistance to Jordan's environment sector. 
 
Minister "Loves" NGOs 
--------------------- 
10.  Minister Irani, formerly the head of the NGO the Royal 
Society for the Conservation of Nature, said he "loves" 
NGOs.  He clearly intends to make NGO and civil society 
involvement a cornerstone of environmental policy in Jordan. 
He added that the major environmental NGOs are well 
organized amongst themselves in Jordan.  Irani said that 
there are three NGO seats on a nine-person advisory panel to 
the MOE, and that he pushed the environmental NGO umbrella 
group to select their own representatives rather than have 
the Ministry select whom it wants. 
 
11.  Irani also spoke highly of the GLOBE program, saying it 
was "fantastic."  At the same time, he said the MOE is weak 
on awareness programs and that he wants to upgrade the 
ministry's performance on this issue, including injecting 
environmental issues into Jordan's school curriculum and 
"getting outside the box" on environmental education. 
 
Heavy Demands on Jordan Valley Water 
------------------------------------ 
12.  On May 31, A/S Turner saw much of the complex water 
infrastructure in the Jordan Valley, beginning with the Al- 
Wehdah (Unity) Dam along the Yarmouk River that defines the 
Jordan-Syria border.  The dam is scheduled to be completed 
in March 2006 and will ultimately hold 110 million cubic 
meters (MCM) of water in a five-kilometer reservoir, 
according to the dam's Project Manager Mr. Fouad Ejeilat of 
the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA).  The main purpose of the 
dam is capturing water from winter rains to ensure a steady 
supply for Jordan's Peace Treaty water commitments to 
Israel, for irrigation in the Jordan Valley and for drinking 
water to Amman, especially during the dry summer.  Ejeilat 
told Turner that the JVA expects to use 80 MCM annually from 
the Al-Wehdah Dam, of which 50 MCM would go to Amman for 
domestic use and 30 MCM for irrigation in the Jordan Valley. 
 
13.  Ejeilat also commented that there are many small dams 
upstream of the Yarmouk in Syria that reduce the inflow to 
the Al-Wehdah Dam.   Pumps that draw water off the Yarmouk 
for Syrian farms downstream of the dam reduce the amount of 
the outflow from the dam that ultimately arrives at the King 
Abdullah canal in the Jordan Valley. 
 
14.  Downstream of the Al-Wehdah Dam in the shadow of the 
Golan Heights is the Adesieh Weir, where the Yarmouk's flow 
is split for three uses: to Israel to fulfill water 
commitments under the 1994 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty, to 
the King Abdullah Canal for irrigation and drinking water, 
and to the Yarmouk itself for in-stream flow.  The Yarmouk 
joins the Jordan River a few miles further on.  Another 
crucial but virtually unseen piece of infrastructure is an 
input pipe to the King Abdullah Canal from Israel that 
delivers Israel's reciprocal water commitments to Jordan 
under the 1994 Peace Treaty.  That inflow was flowing 
vigorously into the canal during A/S Turner's stop at the 
junction. 
 
15.  A/S Turner's final stop in the Jordan Valley was at the 
Deir Alla Control Center.  Engineers demonstrated their 
ability to monitor and control water levels, flow rates and 
salinity levels through the Valley's numerous dams, pumping 
stations, gates and canals.  JVA Advisor Suhail Wahsheh said 
that the JVA's canal and delivery system have around 5% 
water loss, a very low figure.  With over 60% of the JVA's 
water going for irrigation in the valley, efficient 
irrigation is important, he said.  He added that in his 
view, perhaps 60% of the valley's farmers practice efficient 
irrigation but that much outreach and education still needs 
to be done even with that 60% and especially with the 
laggard 40%. 
 
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Leading the Way in Environment 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
16.  At a May 31 dinner with A/S Turner, Aqaba Special 
Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Environment Commissioner Dr. 
Belal Bashir said that tourism and environment, especially 
its prized coral reefs, are critical parts of Aqaba's 
development plan.  Bashir proudly pointed out that demand 
for treated wastewater in Aqaba (from an USAID wastewater 
treatment plant) already exceeds the supply.  He was 
interested in learning more from A/S Turner about 
environmental enforcement at the state level in the United 
States since Aqaba operates at the sub-national level. 
Bashir matter of factly noted Aqaba's lengthy cooperation 
with Israel on environmental issues, including, he noted 
laughingly, his conniving with Israeli counterparts to force 
actions in both countries. 
 
NGO Brings Park, Drinking Water System to Rural Village 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
17.  A/S Turner's last stop in Jordan before driving across 
the Sheikh Hussein Bridge into Israel on June 1 was the 
Sheikh Hussein community, a small, poor village in the rural 
northern Jordan Valley.  Representatives of the NGO Friends 
of the Earth Middle East (FOEME) showed Turner two of their 
projects there, a rainwater harvesting system at the local 
school that provides drinking water to school kids, and a 10- 
hectare park.  With the water distribution system operating 
only one or two days per week, children were forced to carry 
their drinking water from home and to urinate in the bushes 
around the school.  FOEME's water harvesting system, paid 
for in part by the U.S.-supported "Good Water Neighbors" 
program, saves rainwater that runs off from the roof into 
big barrels that are used later to supply drinking water and 
for toilets.  FOEME cleverly wants to use a natural 
depression at its nearby park to create a swimming pool, in 
part because several children drown annually swimming in the 
steep-sided King Abdullah canal. 
 
18.  Comment: Jordan isn't there yet on water resource 
management, although there are bright spots.  Agriculture 
consumes over 60% of Jordan's water but contributes a meager 
3% of Jordan's GDP.  The stress of meeting this demand is 
fraying Jordan's ecosystems. 
 
19. A/S Turner has cleared this cable. 
 
HENZEL