Danish

Uncovering ‘GreenWash’
Jordan
Introduction
Jordan occupies a strategic location in the Middle East. It is located to the
east of the West Bank and Israel. From the North, it borders Syria and from the
east, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Jordan has a small window to the Red Sea in the
Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan plays an important role in connecting Africa, the Arabian
Peninsula and Asia.
Jordan is considered as a country in a transitional zone with four biological
areas that include the Mediterranean zone, Irano- Turanian zone, Sudanian
zone and desert habitat. In addition, Jordan has a unique geology and topography.
It has the lowest point on earth at the Dead Sea, -417 meter below sea
level.
Jordan’s population is increasing at a high rate. The current population is
around 5.2 million people with two million people living in Amman, the capital,
and a growth rate of 3.4%. Moreover, Jordan received numerous fluxes of people
as a result of the Middle East crises especially those related to the Palestinian-
Israeli conflict and the second Gulf War.
Water is a scarce resource in Jordan. Jordan is considered to be arid and a
semiarid country. Water resources do not meet existing demands. Most of
Jordan’s groundwater aquifers are being utilized beyond their safe yields.
Jordan faces huge challenges to build its economy. After several years of slow
growth, Jordan’s economy is beginning to stage a recovery. Growth in real gross
domestic product (GDP) in 2001 was 4.2%, up from only 1.6% in 1999. While
Jordan had hoped for a surge in growth as a result of its peace treaty with Israel
in 1994, the recent collapse of Arab-Israeli peace negotiations in late 2000 has
dampened hopes for regional economic cooperation in the near future.
Jordan was admitted to membership in the World Trade Organization in April
2000, after agreeing to a package of trade and investment liberalization measures.
The United States and Jordan concluded a bilateral free trade treaty
signed in December 2001. Moreover, Jordan is engaging in the Greater Arab
Free Trade Zone and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. A privatization program
has been undertaken to reduce the Jordanian government’s stake in sectors
of the economy previously dominated by state-controlled firms. This was a
prerequisite for restructuring Jordan’s debt to the IMF and the World Bank.
Jordan declared itself committed to achieving sustainable development. Besides
signing the 1992 Rio Declaration, Jordan signed and ratified several conventions
to protect the environment. Jordan National Agenda 21 was produced
late 2001, as was the biodiversity strategy and action plan. However, the
sustainability process is thought by many NGOs to be very sluggish. Jordan
has to overcome considerable financial, institutional, political, environmental
and social challenges that are currently impediments to sustainable development.
The governmental report
The General Corporation for Environmental Protection1 (GCEP - the governmental
authority responsible for environmental protection) through a financial
grant from UNDP, produced “Jordan’s Report about Sustainable Development to
Johannesburg Summit 2002.” GCEP invited private sector representatives, non
governmental environmental organizations, women associations, media and