TITLE:
Water Security Needs What Ought to Be Done to Increase the Future Water Security as a Fundamental Base for Social, Economic and Political Stability—The Case of Jordan
AUTHORS:
Elias Salameh
KEYWORDS:
Water Security, Quality, Over-Exploited Aquifers, Water Supply
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.10 No.10,
October
14,
2022
ABSTRACT: This
study discusses the present water security situation in Jordan and delineates
the required policies and programs to reach at a more robust and resilient
water security situation. Although Jordan has achieved much in securing the
different components of its water sector system, some components have still to be adequately
addressed and others strengthened. Increasing the available water resources,
which is practically only possible by desalinating sea water at Aqaba under
sole Jordanian sovereignty, is
found to be the most important and vital issue in improving the country’s water
security situation. It improves the security issues of providing dearly needed
additional water, releases the overexploited aquifers and saves them from depletion and
quality deterioration, allows introducing new industries to Jordan, de-sharpens
the conflict on the shared water resources with Jordan’s neighboring countries
and is expected to render these conflicts to a problem of royalty on water
resources and not as it is at present a social, economic, human, environmental
and political conflict. Desalination will also make Jordan more resilient to
climate change. Infrastructure security must be strengthened in Jordan both
against natural hazards and against intended sabotage and damage. Water quality protection
from pollution and deterioration has still to be adequately addressed requiring
strengthening of laws and regulations and their application. The already
delineated surface and groundwater protection zones have to be strictly adhered
when licensing human activities in addition to implementing cybersecurity best
practices. In addition, technology-dependent management tools have to be
strongly advanced using integrated water resources management to ensure
sustainable resource management, detection and repair of physical water losses
and illegal water tapings, pricing water at its opportunity cost, irrigation
modernization, strict environmental impacts assessment and application wherever
water resources and water infrastructures are involved, and strengthening of
training and management programs.