Environmental issues are increasing day by day due to high population density, rising temperatures, and global warming. These factors have significant effects on rainfall patterns, which vary from season to season, especially in a highly tense region.
Jordan is one of the water-poor areas due to its location in a central part of the Middle East and its lack of extensive water outlets. Even the available water sources are shared. Jordan receives a specific share of water under treaties and agreements with neighboring countries. However, is Jordan’s share from these agreements fair and sufficient? And does Jordan need these agreements to maintain its water sufficiency and cover its deficit?
The per capita share of water in Jordan does not exceed 15 percent of the internationally defined water poverty threshold of 1,000 cubic meters per year. Additionally, available water sources are insufficient to meet growing needs. The annual water deficit in Jordan is about 500 million cubic meters, compared to its total annual need of 2.1 billion cubic meters for all purposes.
Agreements and Small Cuts
In 1987, Jordan and Syria signed the Yarmouk River Agreement, which stipulated that Jordan would build a dam with a capacity of 220 million cubic meters, while Syria would construct about 25 dams to irrigate its lands. Syria would also benefit from the electricity generated by the Jordanian-built dam.
Over the years, the flow of the Yarmouk River has decreased due to the drilling of thousands of underground wells within its basin and the increased number of dams along the river’s tributaries on the Syrian side. This has contributed to reducing the agreed-upon dam capacity from 220 million cubic meters in 1987 to 110 million cubic meters.
Jordan also signed the peace treaty in 1994, known as the Wadi Araba Agreement, with Israel, which included many provisions, including water. The agreement aimed to achieve a comprehensive and lasting resolution to all existing water issues between the two parties, recognizing fair allocations for each from the waters of the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers and groundwater in Wadi Araba, based on mutually accepted principles and agreed-upon quantities and quality.
According to the agreement’s water annex (Annex 2) and a subsequent agreement reached in 1997 between the late King Hussein and the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, Jordan’s annual water share is 35 million cubic meters, in addition to the water stored during the winter in the Sea of Galilee, which is pumped back to Jordan during the summer.
Low Rainfall and Projects in the Pipeline
Since the beginning of the current winter season, Jordan has been experiencing a shortage of rainfall due to increasing climate changes. By mid-December, accumulated rainfall had reached only 4 percent of the seasonal average, according to official figures from the Jordan Meteorological Department. This has raised concerns, especially with the practice of intensive year-round agriculture to meet the increasing demand for food in the kingdom. Agriculture relies entirely on rainwater, which is collected in dams, as well as on groundwater, which is now at risk due to excessive extraction that has exceeded safe limits.
The spokesperson for Jordan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Lawrence Al-Majali, told Daraj that Jordan produces 2.5 million tons of vegetables and fruits annually. He added that the agricultural sector in Jordan has been affected for years by climate changes and shifting rainfall patterns, which have led to changes in planting schedules and have directly impacted field crops.
Al-Majali noted the existence of joint agricultural water-harvesting plans, including the construction of 155 earthen dams and reservoirs in coordination with the Geographic Center, the Ministry of Water, the Jordan Valley Authority, and other entities. Additionally, more than 10,000 rainwater collection wells have been built in western Jordan, along with the use of advanced water-saving technologies such as aquaponics and hydroponics to reduce water consumption.
The spokesperson for Jordan’s Ministry of Water, Omar Salameh, told Daraj that Jordan faces major water challenges related to the availability of water resources, as it is one of the most water-scarce and arid regions in the world. Of Jordan’s total area of 98,000 square kilometers, 92 percent consists of arid lands, with annual rainfall in some areas not exceeding 50 millimeters, while western regions and Al-Shifa Ghoriyah regions receive relatively higher amounts.
Salameh pointed out that Jordan’s share of surface water resources has declined. Under the 1994 peace agreement, Jordan receives 30 million cubic meters of water annually from the Jordan River, compared to 1.25 billion cubic meters in the early 1950s before geopolitical shifts and demographic changes in the Arab region. The country’s water share from the Yarmouk River basin has also significantly decreased. When the Yarmouk River Agreement was signed in 1987, the river’s flow rate was 300 cubic meters per second, but it has now dropped to less than one cubic meter per second.
Meanwhile, the National Carrier Project is expected to provide 300 million cubic meters of desalinated seawater. However, it requires a high budget, especially as the water deficit is expected to increase from 50 to 100 million cubic meters by 2030, coinciding with population growth, according to Salama.
A Contrasting Perspective
Dr. Sufian Al-Tal, former General Coordinator of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and an international consultant in planning and environmental affairs, told Daraj that the waters of the Jordan River belong to Jordan and Palestine, and Israel has no rightful claim to any cubic meter of it. According to international laws and conventions, the Jordan River was historically the natural boundary between Jordan and Palestine, not between Jordan and Israel. Furthermore, the West Bank is not Israeli land.
Al-Tal explains that while international laws regulate the rights of riparian states to benefit from shared rivers, Israel has never complied with these regulations. It diverted the course of the Jordan River north of the Sea of Galilee, channeling most of its water through pipelines into occupied Palestine and then to the Negev Desert. What remains in the Jordan River today is contaminated water, flowing out of the Sea of Galilee and mixed with Israeli sewage and fish farm wastewater, rendering it unfit even for agriculture.
Contrary to the widely accepted notion of Jordan as a water-scarce country, Al-Tal argues that Jordan actually has a significant water reserve. He believes that the narrative of water scarcity is politically driven and not entirely factual. Jordan sits on a network of 12 to 13 underground water basins that span the entire country from north to south and east to west. These basins, according to him, hold sufficient water resources. Additionally, historical rainfall data from the past 50 years shows that Jordan receives between 7 to 8 billion cubic meters of rainwater annually. However, most of this water is lost to floods and natural disasters, instead of being captured and stored underground for future use.
Al-Tal also stresses that Israel has stolen Jordan’s water. The Yarmouk River, which legally and historically forms a boundary between Jordan and Syria, was partially occupied by Israel at its confluence with the Jordan River. Israel then claimed riparian rights over the Yarmouk, despite its occupation being illegal and unilateral.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Shbeib, an expert in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing for Water Resource Management, told Daraj that climate change is the result of decades of negligence by industrialized nations. He describes it as one of the most pressing global challenges, having negative effects on different sectors, with water scarcity and drought being among its most severe consequences. Jordan is currently experiencing the worst drought in its history, caused by climate change which in turn causes declining rainfall and rising temperatures, which have had catastrophic effects on water resources and agriculture. Critical agricultural areas, such as the Jordan Valley and the Badia region, are now at risk and struggling to sustain their production.
Al-Shbeib emphasizes that the Jordanian government must seek alternative methods to capture and preserve rainwater, rather than allowing it to evaporate. He suggests using volcanic caves in the region to store water and prevent evaporation, as well as employing these stored reserves for groundwater recharge projects. These immediate interventions, he argues, would support advanced agricultural techniques such as smart irrigation and hydroponic farming, which could boost food production while reducing water consumption. He also advocates for the promotion of drought-resistant crops that can adapt to climate changes.
Additionally, Al-Shbeib stresses the need for better water resource management to curb over-extraction. This includes modernizing water distribution systems, expanding desalination projects, and utilizing treated wastewater for agriculture. While he acknowledges that deep groundwater extraction is an option, he warns that it must be approached cautiously with scientific and practical regulations to ensure sustainability.
Al-Shbeib concludes by urging the Jordanian government to invest in scientific research conducted in Jordanian universities. By doing so, policymakers could develop integrated strategies to tackle the country’s water crisis with long-term, science-driven solutions.