US embassy cable - 03AMMAN4965

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004965 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/RA LAWSON, OES/PCI PAYNE, OES/ENV RICHARD 
STATE PASS USAID EGAT WILSON 
STATE PASS USEPA, OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: SENV, EAID, PGOV, JO 
SUBJECT:  AMBASSADOR PROMISES JORDAN CONTINUING SUPPORT ON 
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 
 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  In an introductory call on the new 
Minister of Environment, Dr. Hisham Gharaibeh, the 
Ambassador gave his assurances that the U.S. would continue 
to support Jordan's environmental objectives.  Among these, 
both agreed that building the country's environmental 
management capacity and supporting projects and activities 
that would enhance the new ministry's regulatory and 
enforcement capabilities rank highly.  The Ambassador urged 
Gharaibeh to focus with the Minister of Industry and Trade 
on the timing and agenda of the proposed Joint Environmental 
Forum.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (SBU) In an August 5 courtesy call on the new Minister of 
Environment, Dr. Hisham Gharaibeh, the Ambassador 
acknowledged the challenges that lay ahead for Jordan to 
protect its environment.  He reassured Gharaibeh that the 
U.S. would continue its active engagement on environmental 
issues, including funding not only the larger infrastructure 
projects, such as water and wastewater treatment plants, but 
also smaller technical assistance and training activities. 
Gharaibeh was grateful for the ongoing U.S. support, but 
repeatedly raised Jordan's desire for additional assistance 
in this sector.  "We'll count on you," he said.  The 
minister added that one of the greatest challenges he faces 
will be to carve out the new ministry's domain and 
relationship with potentially competing ministries, such as 
Water and Irrigation, Health, and Agriculture. 
 
3. (SBU) Turning to the Joint Environmental Forum, the 
Ambassador explained the background of this FTA commitment 
to Gharaibeh and encouraged him to coordinate closely with 
the new Minister of Industry and Trade, Mohammad Abu 
Hammour, to identify an appropriate time and develop the 
agenda for the event.  Gharaibeh, thinking aloud, suggested 
that October may represent an opportunity to host the event, 
but promised to check with his Industry and Trade 
counterpart to reconfirm.  The Ambassador impressed upon the 
minister the importance of this bilateral environmental 
dialog, noting that the Jordan FTA was the fist such 
agreement to introduce an environmental element and 
Washington policymakers were keen to follow its progress. 
 
4. (SBU) The USAID Acting Mission Director and Water 
Resources and Environment Officer briefed Gharaibeh on 
environmental projects that USAID is supporting in Jordan. 
Notable among these are medical waste management, hazardous 
waste management, reclaimed water reuse in agricultural and 
industrial applications, rehabilitation of a phosphate mine, 
and broad public awareness campaigns.  The NEA Regional 
Environment Officer added that an upcoming EPA-facilitated 
multilateral (Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli) training 
activity on hazardous waste management complements USAID's 
objective and helps to build the capacity of his ministry's 
personnel.  Gharaibeh was appreciative of the U.S. 
assistance on hazardous waste and lamented the state of the 
Suwaqa hazardous waste site, a quasi-white elephant of a 
facility in the remote Jordan desert.  While some of the 
basic infrastructure is in place, he related, Suwaqa 
requires significant capital investment (including the 
incinerators) and a management plan to make it operational. 
 
5. (SBU) When asked about his priorities for the Ministry of 
Environment, Gharaibeh told us he would be aggressively 
seeking international donor funding, as his budget is quite 
small.  Recognizing his limited resources, he hopes to 
create public/private partnerships to work on pressing 
environmental issues.  Developing better working 
relationships with complementary ministries, such as Health, 
Water and Irrigation, and Agriculture, are also high on his 
agenda.  Gharaibeh noted that for years, without an 
environmental entity of cabinet status, other ministries had 
"poached" many of the issues that "rightfully belong" to the 
Ministry of Environment and he needed to better define the 
new lines of responsibility.  The laws are clear, he said, 
but enforcement and implementation are weak. 
 
6. (SBU) The Ambassador told Gharaibeh that we hoped to 
recruit an EPA official to come to Jordan for several months 
to assist the Ministry of Environment in developing the most 
efficient and effective organizational structure to confront 
the environmental issues particular to Jordan.  Gharaibeh 
noted that the proposed organizational structure assessment 
may need a specialized contractor to be able to do a 
thorough and in-depth job. 
 
7. (SBU) BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON HISHAM GHARAIBEH.  Until 
his appointment as Minister of Environment at the end of 
July, Dr. Hisham Gharaibeh served as Vice President of 
Yarmouk University, Jordan, since 2000.  Prior to that he 
was a professor at the Department of Finance and Banking at 
Yarmouk University from 1979-2000.  Gharaibeh has also 
worked as the Head of the Consultancy Department at the Arab 
Organization for Administrative Development (League of Arab 
States) from 1987-1991, in addition to doing consulting for 
several Arab and international organizations, such as the 
IMF.  While his experience in matters of environmental 
affairs is arguably limited, his extensive managerial 
background may help the nascent ministry to develop the 
proper infrastructure and recruit the most qualified 
personnel.  Gharaibeh was born in Irbid in 1948.  He holds a 
BSc in Commerce from the University of Alexandria, Egypt, an 
MBA from the University of Dallas, Texas, and a PhD in 
Financial Management from the University of Texas.  He was a 
teaching assistant at the University of Texas from 1975- 
1979. 
 
HALE