US embassy cable - 05AMMAN5907

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005907 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/STC, OES/ENV, AND OES/PCI 
STATE ALSO FOR OES - PDAS ROCK, DAS MCMURRAY 
EPA FOR ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR AYRES 
 
E.O. 12658: N.A. 
TAGS: SENV, EAID, TSPL, TPHY, TBIO, KSCA, JO 
SUBJECT: Jordan's Request for Science Fellows 
 
REFS: (A) State 123789 
      (B) Amman 3794 
      (C) Amman 3358 
 
1.  Summary: Post requests four Embassy Science Fellows (Ref 
A).  One Science Fellow would fill a longstanding commitment 
to the Government of Jordan under the Joint Environmental 
Forum (JEF) of the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement to 
provide an environmental economist.  The second fellow would 
conduct a comprehensive review of science and technology 
capabilities in Jordan.  We expect the first Fellow to come 
from EPA, the second from the National Science Foundation. 
Two more fellows from the EPA would be welcome to conduct a 
landfill site remediation assessment, and to assess an 
industrial liquid waste facility.  Although timing is 
somewhat flexible, post would best be able to accommodate 
Science Fellows from September through December, 2005.  End 
summary. 
 
EPA Environmental Economist 
--------------------------- 
 
2.  The first U.S.-Jordan Joint Environmental Forum was 
convened under the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement. The 
Plan of Action from the JEF signed on September 14, 2004 by 
OES PDAS Rock and then-Minister of Environment Alia Bouran 
called for an environmental economist from the United States 
to visit Jordan and advise the Ministry of Environment (MOE) 
on establishing economically sustainable ways to support 
environmental protection in Jordan.  Our request is for a 
Science Fellow (Ref A) from EPA to come to Jordan to meet 
this longstanding USG obligation. 
 
3.  Three consecutive Ministers have expressed their 
interest in this project, and Embassy Amman fully supports 
it as well (RefS B, C).  The Ministry of Environment is very 
interested in having the environmental economist come to 
Amman as soon as possible, and it has provided a work 
strategy paper to the Embassy and to EPA that lays out MOE's 
plan for employing the economist. 
 
4.  We expect that the environmental economist would be in 
Amman for 2-3 months, and that most of that person's time 
would be spent at the Ministry of Environment itself, 
interacting with top-level officials there, including the 
Minister, to design national programs and present options 
for decisions. 
 
5.  The current Minister of Environment Khaled Irani is 
personally interested in hosting an environmental economist 
at the ministry.  The minister also represents a resource 
for the USG in implementing economically friendly 
environmental planning and projects.  He previously headed 
the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature that 
manages eco-tourism facilities in Jordan, linked ecotourism 
and local development, and uses free-market mechanisms 
widely to support its work.  We need to move quickly to take 
advantage of Irani's presence in the Minister's suite at 
MOE. 
 
NSF Fellow for Evaluation of S&T in Jordan 
------------------------------------------ 
 
6.  Our second request for a 2005-2006 Science Fellow (ref 
A) is for a person from the National Science Foundation to 
visit Jordan for 2-3 months to make a comprehensive overview 
of Jordan's S&T capability.  This would include on-the- 
ground assessments of science and technology at Jordan's 
major universities, governmental institutions and quasi- 
governmental organizations such as the Higher Council for 
Science and Technology and the Royal Scientific Society. 
The President of the 17,000-student Jordan University of 
Science and Technology (JUST) and the President of Al-Balqa 
Applied University have both made personal appeals directly 
to Embassy officers to expand S&T cooperation between their 
universities and American institutions. 
 
7.  An NSF overview of the current strengths and weaknesses 
in Jordan's S&T sector would be extremely helpful in 
allowing the USG to target specific areas of S&T that would 
be most useful to both Jordan and the United States.  In 
addition, Jordan is in a position to be a regional center 
for S&T.  Jordan is home to a large population of foreign 
students from around the Arab world, and it has taken 
several concrete steps to assist Iraqi reconstruction 
specifically in S&T.  It is strongly in our own interest to 
evaluate Jordan's S&T sector, as it will play an important 
role in regional development. 
 
EPA Fellow for Landfill Site Remediation Assessment 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
8.  Post requests a third, one-month Fellow, most likely 
from EPA, to visit Jordan to assess the Russeifah municipal 
solid waste facility and mine tailings which create large 
amounts of dust.  The site is now closed but contaminants 
may pose a health risk.  USAID and other donors are working 
with Jordanian government agencies to address the problems 
at this but urgently need an overall assessment from an 
experienced professional to set the course for action. 
Experience in analyzing, prioritizing solid waste issues and 
charting a course of action including possible budget 
estimates are the skills that this person would need to 
bring to the table. 
 
EPA Fellow to Assess Industrial Liquid Waste Site 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
9.  Finally, Post and the Government of Jordan are both 
keenly interested in having an EPA Science Fellow for one 
month to assess an industrial liquid waste facility that is 
near the Syrian border.  A variety of industrial wastes have 
been dumped into holding ponds with little or no planning 
for their remediation.  Ideally, the Fellow would assess the 
situation, outline a plan for remediating the site, and 
train Ministry of Environment officials on how the 
assessment and remediation plans are developed. 
 
Amman Has Hosted Previous Science Fellows 
----------------------------------------- 
 
10.  Embassy Amman has previously hosted Embassy Science 
Fellows from both EPA and from USDA.  The work of EPA 
Science Fellow Rick Baird in April 2004 was a cornerstone in 
cementing the strategy of the Ministry of Environment, and 
led directly to the current request for an environmental 
economist.  The Embassy is familiar with the program and its 
obligations.  Arrangements will be made in conjunction with 
the sending agency for specifics on timing and length of 
stay, office space, residential space and local travel. 
 
General Requirements 
-------------------- 
 
11.  Although Arabic language skills would of course be 
welcome, they are not required.  Jordan's educational and 
governmental officials are virtually universally fluent in 
English.  Furthermore, there is strong respect for the 
United States' S&T institutions, and Fellows would receive 
top-level support from their Jordanian counterparts. 
 
12.  Fellows will have a chance to influence policies and 
programs at the top level in a country critical to U.S. 
foreign policy interests.  The Fellows will also have a 
great degree of personal autonomy to make recommendations 
and design their own in-country work plans.  These are not 
cookie-cutter jobs.  The Embassy will support Fellows with 
resources, introductions and ideas but the ultimate work 
product will be heavily influenced by the Fellow's own ideas 
and contributions, not by a plan laid out in advance by 
others. 
 
Background on Jordan 
-------------------- 
 
13.  As of July 24, hardship differential at Embassy Amman 
was 5% and administrative danger pay was 15%.  Many Embassy 
employees have their families, including schoolchildren, in 
Amman.  Jordan is also the home of several globally 
recognized cultural and recreational sites such as Petra, 
Jerash and the Gulf of Aqaba.  Jordan's climate is pleasant, 
sunny and dry, not unlike parts of Arizona and New Mexico. 
 
HALE