Final Conclusions and Recommendations

Abstract

This Regional NGO Master Plan for Sustainable Development of the Jordan Valley aims at identifying feasible interventions that will restore the valley’s environmental and ecological values within a realistic financial and economic framework, in which a future State of Palestine will be recognized as one of the three riparians, side by side with Israel and Jordan with all three nations entitled to an equitable share of the valley’s resources.

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This Regional NGO Master Plan for Sustainable Development of the Jordan Valley aims at identifying feasible interventions that will restore the valley’s environmental and ecological values within a realistic financial and economic framework, in which a future State of Palestine will be recognized as one of the three riparians, side by side with Israel and Jordan with all three nations entitled to an equitable share of the valley’s resources. The plan assumes furthermore free access to the valley for all people within appropriate and negotiated security arrangements. This plan addresses interventions on a regional and national scale in the areas of water management, pollution control, agriculture development, tourism and cultural heritage, land use, governance, sustainable energy, urban development and infrastructure. It will be used by WEDO/EcoPeace and partners as an advocacy tool towards Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian decision makers and the international community for the implementation of the proposed interventions.

Based on the population projections made by the Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli Departments of Statistics, an assessment has been made of the total population in the valley in the years 2025 and 2050. This includes natural growth of the autonomous population to 0.92 % in 2050. In addition, this Master Plan assumes that in Jordan the high number of foreign inhabitants in the valley will gradually decline as because improving economic conditions in their countries of origin, including Syria, Iraq and Egypt. It is assumed that all Israeli settlements in the Palestinian part of the Jordan Valley will be removed, and that the Independent Palestinian State created will see a growth towards an estimated 500,000 people living in the Palestinian section of the Jordan Valley by 2050. It assumes natural population growth under strong economic development conditions in Israel. These assumptions lead to a total projected population in 2050 of 1.048 Million people living in the Jordan Valley, from the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee to the northern edge of the Dead Sea.

The key challenge facing the NGO Master Plan is to strike the right developmental balance between a healthy economic developmental path for the valley and its people on the one hand, and a Jordan River with sufficient environmental flows to sustain a healthy eco-system on the other hand. To meet this objective there is a need to ensure that the river serves as a natural water conveyor and source for water supply for residents in and outside the Jordan Valley. Sustainable development is seen as a catalyst to peace building between Israel and Palestine and the deepening of cooperation between Jordan, Palestine and Israel as a means to achieve prosperity for their residents in the valley. A key condition for meeting this challenge is that Palestine is recognized as a full riparian to the Jordan River, entitled to have access to its fair share of water resources and sovereignty over its lands in the valley.

A total of 127 interventions have been identified, aiming at addressing all strategic objectives of the Master Plan, with a total investment value of 4.58 Billion USD. The full set of interventions is presented in Annex 1 and grouped around the various strategic planning objectives. Interventions have been distinguished in terms of Regional (REG), Israeli (ISR), Jordanian (JOR) and Palestinian (PAL) interventions. The interventions have been elaborated at pre-feasibility level. This implies that indeed more details are to be elaborated during the next stage following the completion of this study, such as detailed feasibility studies, financing plans and more. It is not unlikely that during this follow-up phase additional ideas and interventions will be proposed and developed to further fine tune the actions required.

The majority of investments foreseen in the Jordan Valley relate to urban and infrastructure development, about 3.4 Billion USD, or 80 % of the total investments. This package is crucial for reaching the economic growth assumed in this Master Plan, and to provide the Jordanian and Palestinian needs in terms of housing, roads, education, medical care and utilities. Moreover, these interventions will attract private investors necessary for creating the economic dynamics in the Jordan Valley, required for sustainable growth and prosperity.

By 2050, when these interventions have been implemented, the Jordan Valley will have turned into a co-operative, confident and peaceful region with a healthy economy and strong development perspectives for the people living here. They will experience a clean and healthy environment and sufficient flows in the Jordan River to sustain healthy eco-systems. At the same time the river will act as natural water conveyor and source for water supply in the Jordan Valley. Sufficient water will be equitably shared among the three riparian countries and the valley will be freely accessible for all nationalities within an appropriate security framework. Local, private and foreign investments will be encouraged due to the stability in the region. In short, there will be an investment climate resulting from the reforms in general, and a conductive regulatory business environment that promotes sustainable development.

This vision for 2050 is subject to a series of assumptions, including full realization of the three-state co-operation scenario. Palestine will become an independent state, and an equitable partner to both Israel and Jordan. It is also assumed that by 2020 all pollution sources will have been mitigated or removed from the Jordan Valley, including wastewater, saline water and solid waste related pollution sources. A sustainable and environmentally friendly water regime has been created in the Jordan Valley by 2050, including a clean, healthy and multi-functional river system and facilitates the interests all riparian states appropriately, including the future independent state of Palestine.

By 2050, all regionally generated wastewater will be treated and reused for agricultural purposes. It is also assumed that the three together will have established the Jordan River Basin Management Organization, responsible for river basin management, overseeing the agreed water supply and regional economic development frameworks and jointly managing the Jordan River as the major natural and multi-functional surface water body in the region. It is also assumed that the three parties have agreed on a joint security management framework that ensures maximized security against external threats against all Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian people living in and around the Jordan Valley. This security framework will be based on unbiased, professional and joint assessment of security risks, and mitigation plans that effectively address these risks.

This Regional NGO Master Plan will be presented at an international conference scheduled for June 2015. It will be used as an advocacy tool by WEDO/EcoPeace and its partners towards national and international decision makers and the international community for the implementation of the proposed interventions.

Finding international and national partners for implementation of the most urgent interventions is the next challenge. We trust that the depth of the analysis presented here and the consistency in the applied planning approach will convince these future partners to embark on implementing this plan, including continued co-operation on valley level within the Lower part of the Jordan River among the Jordanian, Israeli and the Palestinian neighbors.

FormalPara What can move forward now?

Within the total set of interventions, a series of short term interventions have been identified, which can be initiated immediately, pending the final peace accord between Israel and Palestine. In addition, preparation for the Jordan Valley Regional Coordination interventions on all strategic objectives can be advanced at this time. They represent a total investment value of 495 MUSD, including 165 MUSD of Israeli interventions and 330 MUSD of donor supported Jordanian and Palestinian interventions in the areas of pollution control, water management, tourism and cultural heritage development, agriculture and ecological restoration. These interventions aim at improving the baseline situation in the Jordan Valley substantially, particularly in Palestine and Jordan, resulting in a strong foundation for the establishment of the independent Palestinian State and for effective regional co-operation among the three riparian states as geopolitical conditions allow.

These short-term investments are the following:

2020 Target: Remove major pollution sources from the Jordan Valley

P01	ISR	Fish Ponds Short Term Pollution Control Improvement Project
P02	ISR	Mine Fields Removal Project
P03	ISR	Sustainable Fish Farming in the Jordan Valley
P04	ISR	Betanya Tertiary Wastewater Treatment
P05	ISR	Betanya Desalination Plant and Afikim Reservoir Project
P01	JOR	Solid Waste Management
P02	JOR	Environmental Management and Public Awareness Program
P03	JOR	Agricultural Pollution Control Project
P04	JOR	Separate waste collection and reuse pilots
P01	PAL	Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Plan
P02	PAL	Environmental Management Project
P03	PAL	Wastewater collection and treatment
P04	PAL	Fish farm Pollution control project
P05	PAL	Land and Water quality Protection Project

2020 Target: Prepare for sustainable water management and supply in the Jordan Valley, including ecological rehabilitation of the Jordan River

W01	ISR	Yarmouk River Dredging and Cliff Protection Project
W02	ISR	Western Drainage Basins Flood Management
W03	ISR	Northern Sewerage Expansion Project
W04	ISR	Springs Rehabilitation Project
W01	JOR	Improved Lower Jordan River Basin Management Project
W02	JOR	Wastewater collection, treatment and reuse project
W03	JOR	Emergency Wastewater Management Project
W04	JOR	Waste water reuse pilot projects
W02	PAL	Rehabilitation and Protection of springs
W03	PAL	Rehabilitation and construction of Domestic water networks
W04	PAL	Desalination of Brackish wells
W05	PAL	Rehabilitation of Al Auja Spring
W06	PAL	Development of Water Traffic structure
W07	PAL	Utilization off Al-Fashkha Spring
W10	PAL	Artificial Recharge Scheme
W11	PAL	Construction of Water networks
W12	PAL	Hydro-Geological Assessment of the study Areas

2020 Target: Development of a framework for sustainable development of the agricultural sector in the Jordan Valley with an efficient water use

A01	JOR	Jordan Valley Greenhouses Expansion Project
A02	JOR	Jordan Valley Extension Services Improvement Project
A03	JOR	Jordan Valley Drip Irrigation Improvement Project
A04	JOR	Jordan Valley Post Harvesting Support Project
A05	JOR	Jordan Valley Irrigation Efficiency Improvement Project
A06	JOR	Jordan Valley Authority Support Project
A03	PAL	Water Right Policies and Regulation (internal issues to Palestine)
A08	PAL	Support to Women organizations and Bedouin Communities
A10	PAL	Strengthening of Extension Services
A11	PAL	Promotions of Farmers Cooperative
A12	PAL	Jordan Valley Credit Program
A13	PAL	LEISA Research certification

2020 Target: Development of a sustainable ecological management and restoration framework in the Jordan Valley

E05	REG	International Accreditation of the Lower Jordan River Valley
E01	JOR	Ecological Corridors around Valleys and Dams
E02	JOR	Wetlands and Aquatic Fauna Restoration Project
E03	JOR	Ecological Monitoring and Management Project

2020 Target: Development of a sound foundation for protection of cultural heritage and tourism development in the Jordan Valley

C01	ISR	Tsemach to Naharaym Tourism Development Project
C02	ISR	Gesher to Bezeq Stream Tourism Development Project
C01	JOR	Pella Tabaqat Fahl Site Improvement Project
C02	JOR	Abu Ubaydah Tomb Improvement Project
C01	PAL	Cultural Heritage Protection and Management Plan
C02	PAL	Tourism Branding and Promotion
C04	PAL	Rehabilitation of the Catchment of Ancient Jericho
C05	PAL	Rehabilitation of salt industry sites, Rusheideyeh
C06	PAL	Rehabilitation of Ancient Jericho
C07	PAL	Rehabilitation of Hisham’s Palace
C08	PAL	Rehabilitation of Tel Abu El Alayek
C09	PAL	Rehabilitation of Khirbet El biyadat or Tel Ouja
C10	PAL	Rehabilitation of Khirbet El Makhrouq
C11	PAL	Rehabilitation of Tel El Hamma
C12	PAL	Archaeological Landmark Features
C13	PAL	Spa, Thalasso therapy and Balneo therapy Center
C14	PAL	Jesus Village