Eight grant agreements worth US$ 315,000 to support environmental projects by community-based organizations (CBOs) will be signed at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) headquarter in Amman on Thursday 15 February 2007 at 11:30 a.m.
The agreements will be signed by Mr. Luc Stevens the UNDP Resident Representative in Jordan, and the presidents of the concerned CBOs. This comes as part of the activities of the UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) in Jordan, which supports community projects in the areas of biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation and persistent organic pollutants, simultaneously contributing to enhanced and improved livelihoods of the local communities and their capacities to manage their natural resources.
In Wadi Rum area, known for its unique natural, aesthetic and demographic characteristics, the GEF SGP will be supporting a cluster of projects aiming at building the capacities of local CBOs, supporting models for alternative livelihood strategies, introducing new technologies that would contribute to the conservation of the special ecosystem of the area, and enhancing the impacts of previous GEF SGP supported interventions there. Developing these projects was achieved through a strategic partnership with the USAID-funded SIYAHA Project, currently operating in Wadi Rum, and the IUCN Regional Office/ Amman. The supported projects are:
1. Developing Environmental-friendly Natural Products, by the Burda Women Cooperative.
2. Developing Eco-tourism Programmes in Disi Area, by the Ad Disi Tourism Cooperative.
3. Developing Eco-tourism Programmes in Wadi Rum, by Wadi El Qamar Cooperative.
4. Model Desert Camp in Wadi Rum, by the Wadi Rum Tourism Cooperative.
Still in the south, and particularly in Manshiyet Abu Hammour village of Karak governorate, the women cooperative will implement the “Improved Women Participation in Developing and Sustaining Local Resources Project”. Through this project, the cooperative will support community interventions that would contribute to controlling land degradation in the fragile arid ecosystem of the project area, and improving the living conditions of the community. These interventions will include water harvesting and drip irrigation, household food processing, sheep-raising in closed barns, land reclamation measures, protected agriculture, home gardens and other interventions that use natural resources in a sustainable manner.
In Tubnah village of Irbid governorate, at the northernmost edge of Jordan’s northern forests, close to Ajloun and Debeen nature reserves, overlooking the Jordan Valley, the Tubna Charity Society will implement the “Improved Community Livelihood and Environmental Awareness in Tubnah Area Project” which will support community interventions that adopt sustainable land management practices and improve community living conditions. The project will also conduct awareness activities to raise public awareness of the importance of conserving the special ecosystem and natural resources of Tubnah area, with technical support from the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN)-managed Ajloun nature Reserve.
In the northern Badia, the Anageed Al Khair Cooperative/ Badia Center for Ecological Education (BCEE) will implement the “Biodiversity of the Eastern Desert: An Integrated Study” project, with technical supervision provided by the Badia Research and Development Center (BRDC), through a long-term concession agreement for 10 years. The project aims to preserve the biodiversity of the fauna of the Eastern Desert, enhance public awareness towards the natural heritage of the Eastern Desert, and promote cooperation between the local community and the Badia Center for Ecological Education to engage in money-generating projects.
In Al Khaldiyeh Area- Mafraq governorate, the Soldier’s Family Welfare Society will implement the “Herbal Plants Project”, which aims to promote sustainable land management practices by replicating and up-scaling a successful experience in this field, which the Society has been implementing successfully in a Al Ghuwairiyeh area with SGP support. The project will be implemented on a piece of land provided by the National Center for Agricultural Research and Technical Transfer (NCARTT), which has been providing technical support for Al Ghuwairiyeh project. The project will train women of Al Khaldiyeh area on herbal plant production as a means to improve the environmental and socio-economic situation of the local community of the project area.
By signing the above agreements, and over its lifetime stretching from the beginning of 1993 until now, the GEF SGP would have supported (137) projects for a total grant value of over US$ 4 million, with national contributions of at least triple that amount.