Forestry policies, institutions and programmes
InstitutionsForestry is the responsibility of the Directorate of Forests in the Department of Forestry and Agricultural Resources of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture is the chief enforcement agency in State-owned forests and range reserves. Officers of the Ministry are authorized to seize forest products obtained without a licence and to arrest those illegally cutting timber within all State forest.
The Afforestation Programme led by the Ministry of Agriculture was considered one of the best efforts carried out at the national scale with the participation of public and private institutions. The ministry has implemented annual forest plantation and has distributed about 8 million plants free of charge to schools, embassies, private companies and clubs. The Ministry of Education carries out a similar effort by planting trees through schools. The Jordanian Armed Forces also organizes annual afforestation programmes. Different societies, universities, companies, and NGOs participate in annual festivals for planting forest trees on land allocated by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Ministry of Agriculture delegates protected area establishment and management responsibilities to a private body, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), established in 1966. Its responsibilities include setting up protected areas to safeguard wildlife and scenic areas, breeding endangered species to save them from extinction, enforcing government laws for the protection of wildlife, controlling illegal hunting, raising awareness of environmental issues through education programmes, and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources. RSCN has established six protected areas and over 900 Nature Conservation Clubs in schools. RSCN also contributes to forest planting and establishment in order to prevent desertification. Public land is provided by the Department of Real Estate and the Ministry of Agriculture donates the saplings. RSCN is one of the few voluntary organizations in the Near East which have been given such a public service mandate.
The Jordanian Society for Desertification Control and Badia Development (JSDCBD) was established in 1990 with the objectives to study the mechanism and extent of desertification in order to formulate scientific solutions to halt desertification processes. Besides research, JSDCBD focuses on raising public awareness of the threats of desertification, the use of areas around treated waste plants for afforestation programmes and the rehabilitation of waste disposal sites.
In accordance with the 1995 Environment Protection Law, two entities dealing with environmental issues were established, the Higher Council for Environment Protection (HCEP) and the General Corporation for Environment Protection (GCEP). HCEP consists of 22 members from the public and private sectors, including four NGOs. It is chaired by the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Environment. It has a mandate to approve the national environmental policy and strategy and environmental regulations and standards; to propose environmental legislation; to issue regulations and decisions to implement the environment protection law; and to approve plans to deal with environmental disasters.
GCEP is an autonomous body with managerial and financial independence. It reports directly to the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Environment. Among other duties, GCEP designs, in collaboration with other concerned institutions, policies for environmental protection and formulates mechanisms for its implementation; carries out studies relevant to the environment in collaboration with national instititutions; monitors environmental parameters and compliance with environmental standards and specifications; formulates rules and procedures for establishing natural reserves; prepares plans for environmental emergencies; and enhances public awareness about environmental issues. It also has a role in supervising measures to check desertification. GCEP has an Environment Protection Fund for investment in aspects of conservation and management of the environment in Jordan. GCEP hosts the National Committee for Biodiversity, the National Committee for Combating Desertification (NCCD), and the IUCN National Committee.
Legislation
National legislation covers protection of woods and forests, delimitation of protected forest boundaries; prohibition of grazing of goats; range reserves; and game protection. The first national park was declared in 1965. The different categories of protected area include national park, wildlife reserve, natural scenery area, game reserve, protected area and recreational area.
International activities
Jordon has signed and ratified the UN Convention on Biological Diversity; the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the World Heritage Convention; acceded to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention); and is a contracting party to CITES.
Policies
Jordan¿s Agricultural Policy Charter (APC) outlines proposed measures to conserve and sustainably utilize low rainfall areas, forests and irrigated areas. Its specific objectives include diversification of forestry activities to meet peoples¿ needs, promotion of sustainable land use and consolidation of forest land; and discouraging practices that are not environmentally sound. It also has goals to halt and reverse rangeland degradation and to enhance the quality of the environment.
Jordan was the first Near Eastern country to adopt a clearly defined national strategy for environment protection. The National Environmental Strategy (NES), adopted in May 1991, aims at maintaining long-term environmental balance. The strategy presented five strategic initiatives: constructing a legal framework for environmental management; building an institutional framework for environmental protection and conservation; expansion of protected areas; public outreach; and stemming population growth. The strategy emphasized the priority of water issues, in light of the threats of salinization, pollution and depletion, and of maintaining the productivity of agricultural land, which is threatened by encroachment of urban areas and erosion.
The National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) guides the government¿s environmental policy and investment decisions. Priority environmental issues were identified according to the following thrusts:
- environmental activities related to land and water resources, cultural environment, and natural and cultural resources.
- sectoral and cross-sectoral environmental issues, with priority areas including public awareness; environmental monitoring and impact assessment; improvement, enacting, and enforcement of current and revised laws; and environmental degradation.
last updated: Monday, November 23, 2009