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Meeting Jordan's environmental challenges
All development processes in Jordan are affected by environmental constraints: Jordan has very little arable land and suffers one of the most severe water gaps in the world. Over the decades, waves of migration into Jordan have led to rapid population growth placing an increasing strain on the limited available resources.
JOHUD supports the national strategies for environmental protection and conservation directly through its water and agriculture projects, and indirectly through its concern to mainstream environmental awareness throughout the organisation.
Meeting the water challenge
The most serious challenge is the lack of renewable water: Jordan is ranked as one of the countries with the lowest per capita water availability in the world. JOHUD supports national initiatives to improve the management of this scarce resource, through a wide range of water-related projects.
At community level, through the CDC network, JOHUD worked with men and women to identify ways that they can use the available water more sustainably. This includes water harvesting, rehabilitating dams, wells, springs and irrigation channels, waste water management and grey water recycling.
In 2006 and 2007,an important facet of JOHUD's work in the water sector has been in partnership with the European Union on the MEDWA project. The community-based component also builds on the lessons learnt from the EMPOWERS project that JOHUD implemented in partnership with CARE. Both these projects were part of the EU-funded MEDA water program and involved regional participation - with the opportunity to network with similar initiatives in Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and other countries of the region.
For JOHUD report on global water crisis and Jordan, click here.
More crop per drop
In agricultural communities, especially where they are implementing water management projects, JOHUD encourages the application of farming systems that are water efficient, especially drip feed irrigation and integrated pest management. JOHUD encourages the use of home gardens as a supplement for nutrition and as a way of earning income through the sale of surplus harvest, and also for home-based food processing. In a context of growing food insecurity, a supportive strategy is to help those who live off the land to be more self sustaining, to increase the amount of foo available in the market and to ensure that scarce water is used efficiently to produce nutritious and healthy food.
Support to rural markets
JOHUD has long been a pioneer in the use of rural markets, which are often held at the local CDC. These markets create a space where local people can trade their produce, and also to learn about new farming methods. The role of Souq al Ard, JOHUD's weekly farmers market in Amman, provides an important role in linking small scale producers to new opportunities - demonstrating how through the use of sustainable farming practices - such as organics, chemical free, and the production of niche market products such as rabbit meat, free range eggs, organic salads, they can access customers willing to pay a high price for their goods. More on Souq al Ard, click here
Working collectively
Increasingly, JOHUD is helping link farmers together so that they can cooperate and work collectively in associations. This approach delivers multiple benefits. Farmers gain direct benefit because they gain economies of scale for purchasing, storage, transportation and marketing. Through association they also share experience and avoid costly mistakes from the use of inappropriate technologies. When local farmers associations network across the country, they also strengthen their influence on policy-making bodies. JOHUD supports this process through support to farmers forums at the local and national level
Supporting the farmers' voice
JOHUD's national Farmers Forum, held in early 2007, brought together more than 75 farmers and representatives from government, NGOs and the private sector to review the role of trade agreements in promoting sustainable development. The overwhelming response was that the opportunities were far outweighed by the threats, and that actions needed to be taken to ensure that Jordanian farmers actually derive benefit from the agreements, and that these benefits are distributed equitably and sustainably.
The recommendations for action included more effective dissemination of information about trade agreements, the terms and conditions and ways to respond. Above all, the farmers advocated for an enabling agricultural sector with a proper legislative umbrella to protect farmers from the effects of agreements and from abuse by some exporting sites. This also included the demand for real representation of farmers in the decision making process, and to activate the role of the farmers union and improve its performance.
JOHUD used the findings from this forum to inform its own strategy for its work in the agricultural sector. One outcome was that JOHUD became an active supporter to the Farmers union and has played a key role since its reorganisation in late 2007.
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