Jordan: Global Environment Facility/ Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) funds five projects to protect environment

Five grant agreements totaling US$ 209,500 to support environmental projects by non-government organizations were signed on 28 July 2008 by Mr. Luc Stevens the UNDP Resident Representative in Jordan, and representatives of the concerned organizations.

The grants are part of the activities of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and are implemented by GEF Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) in Jordan in support of community projects in the areas of biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation and persistent organic pollutants. In addition, they simultaneously contribute to enhanced and improved livelihoods of the local communities and their capacities to manage their natural resources.

In this context, Ar-Reef Women Cooperative in Anjara/ Ajloun Governorate will implement the "Enhancing Water Use Efficiency and Land Management in Anjara" project. The project aims to contribute to land conservation and the control of land degradation through supporting land management practices on the local community level, and improving livelihood conditions of the community in the project area. The grant for this project amounts to US$ 36,500.

Also in Ajloun Governorate, the Wadi Rajib Women Cooperative will implement the "Supporting Local Community for the Sustainable Management of the Ecosystem and Lands in Wadi Rajib" project. The project aims to contribute to the protection of the special ecosystem of Wadi Rajib and the sustainable management of productive agricultural lands through supporting small interventions that use available environmental resources and simultaneously enhance the quality of life in the project area. The grant for this project amounts to US$ 42,000.

Two cooperatives in Wadi Arjan/ Ajloun Governorate will share the implementation of the "Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Agro-biodiversity in Wadi Arjan/ Ajloun" project. This project aims at the protection of agro-biodiversity in Wadi Arjan area through sustaining the Wadi's productive lands where indigenous special species of fruit trees have been grown for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and through developing eco-tourism in the area. This project will be implemented by the Arjan Cooperative and the Green Arjan Valley Cooperative, such that each cooperative supports a group of farmers in the Wadi, thereby collectively achieving the main objective of the project. The cooperatives will be assisted by the Ajloun Nature Reserve and the Small Business Development for Nature Conservation/ Pilot Project in Ajloun (Ajloun Project). Total grant amount for this project amounts to US$ 88,000 (US$ 44,000 per each cooperative).

In Wadi Ben Hamad/ Karak Governorate, characterized by its historical, environmental and touristic importance, the Karak Municipality Staff Cooperative will implement the "Integrated Environmental Management in Wadi Ben Hammad" project, which aims at developing a model of integrated environmental management of the Wadi Ben Hammad, based on sustainable eco-tourism as a driving force for sustainable development in the area. The project is part of the overall initiative of the 5-year Integrated Ecosystem Management in Jordan Rift Valley GEF Project, implemented by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature. The grant for this project amounts to US$ 43,000.

By signing the above agreements, and over its lifetime stretching from the beginning of 1993 until now, the GEF SGP would have supported (150) projects in various parts of the country, for a total grant value of around US$ 5 million, with additional national contributions of at least triple that amount.