The Jordan Society for the Rehabilitation of Psychiatric Patients and Drug Dependents will implement the “Herb Park Project/ Al Safsaf Rehabilitation Center” which aims at establishing a model for natural resource management in Na’ur area, including the conservation of local herbal plants, through traditional environmental friendly practices at the community level, linked to a serious social and humanitarian undertaking. Planting herbal plants, establishing poultry barns, establishing a nursery to grow traditional and garden plants, establishing a shop to sell project products and ensure sustainability of the project are some of the activities that will be undertaken by the Society. Outreach activities that promote project ideas and practices will also be implemented so that other communities will benefit from its experience. The Society has been working on a large pioneering project to establish a rehabilitation center for psychiatric patients and drug addicts which includes a significant environmental component that integrates environment protection with rehabilitation efforts. Th Society has been able to mobilize resources from various national and international organizations to support this project which will be operational at the beginning of next year. The grant value amounts to US$ 23,900.

The Princess Basma Community Development Center/ Al Wahadneh/ Ajloun Governorate will implement the “Community Participation in Establishing an Integrated Environmental Unit” project. The project aims at protecting Biodiversity in Al Wahadneh area through promotion of sound natural resource management practices mainly related to agricultural practices. This will be partly achieved through establishing a revolving loan fund that helps women from the local community to implement small income-generating activities such as bee keeping, kitchen and medical herb planting and packaging and food processing. A comprehensive training and public awareness component which aims at improving local community knowledge of proper measures to address environmental problems in a sustainable manner will also be conducted. Al Wahadneh Community Development Center is one of many Community Development Centers operating under the umbrella of the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD), which focus on integrated development activities in the different areas of the Kingdom. The grant value of this project amounts to US$ 28,312.

Al Mafraq Nature Park Coalition comprised of the Jordan Environment Society, the Agricultural Engineers Association and the Jordanian National Forum for Women in Mafraq will establish the “Mafraq Nature Park” in a natural site of 400 dunums allocated to the Coalition by the Municipality of Mafraq and located almost 4 Km west of Mafraq city. As almost all areas designated as forest land in Mafraq are barren and deteriorated, the Coalition aims at rehabilitating this site through restoring top soil and plant cover to be achieved by several soil conservation measures including fencing, contour terracing, planting of trees and shrubs and protecting against over-grazing. It is hoped that the site would turn into a community natural park where features of the original Biodiversity will be restored, several activities will take place such as water harvesting measures, environmental awareness activities through voluntary involvement of students and other sectors of the society. It will also provide the local community of Mafraq with a natural site where they can enjoy nature. Several partners, including the Mafraq Municipality, the Ministries of Agriculture and Education, and the General Corporation for Environment Protection in addition to the Coalition members support the project. The grant value for this project amounts to US$ 43,150.

The Jordan Royal Ecological Diving Society (JREDS) has been working with the glass boat sector in Aqaba in order to lay the ground for upgrading the sector. To prepare for this phase a “Pilot Project to Upgrade Glass Boat Sector in Aqaba” will be implemented by JREDS in cooperation with the Glassboaters Association. The project aims at upgrading the capacity of the glassboats, regulating and organizing the sector in Aqaba, in order to improve performance and efficiency thereby improving the levels of income generated by the individual glassboats, which will, in turn, provide an incentive for operators to cooperate in adopting environmentally friendly practices that would lead to safeguarding the local marine environment. Protection of the marine environment is crucial for the long-term sustainability of this sector as glassboats are dependent on healthy coral reefs to show tourists. The project will be implemented in cooperation with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA). The grant value amounts to US$ 40,254.

The United Nations Development Programme has initiated the Small Grants Programme in Jordan and has been managing it since 1992. Signing the project agreements today, the Programme would have supported (77) projects in different parts of the country for a total value of around US$ 2.5 million. Supported projects under this Programme deal with issues of biodiversity protection, climate change control and protection of international waters addressing at the same time environmental and livelihood problems of the local communities.