AMMAN —
Jordan’s developmental achievements are under threat due to the negative impact
of climate change, which directly and indirectly affects various socioeconomic
aspects of life, most notably water supply, and food and health security as it
threatens biodiversity, increases desertification, and contributes to the
destruction of arable land and consequently the quantity and quality of crops,
according to a press release by the Royal Scientific Society (RSS).
اضافة اعلان
The RSS, through
its Climate Change Studies Division, in cooperation with a number of
stakeholders, seek to contribute to the development of a scientifically
informed methodology to address climate change through building the capacities
of local communities and institutions in the public and private sectors.
The manager of
Climate Change Studies division at the RSS, Ruba Ajjour, said in a statement on
Tuesday that climate change is already affecting all aspects of life and is
expected to negatively impact the country’s development and economic growth,
noting that this matter needs systematic efforts and well planned climate
action.
Ajjour indicated
that the division cooperates closely with stakeholders from line ministries,
international organizations, civil society institutions, universities, and
schools to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The division has worked on the
implementation of several projects; some of which were in the form of applied
pilot projects, and others were carried out in the form of technical support
and capacity-building as well as analysis and preparation of national reports.
On addressing
greenhouse gas emissions, Ajjour explained that the division, in cooperation
with the Ministry of Environment and the support of UNDP, has prepared Jordan’s
first and second Biennial Update Reports on climate change which included
national inventories of greenhouse gas emissions of all economic activities in
all sectors. The results of these reports are used as a base when preparing
national sectoral strategies and when evaluating projects submitted for
international funding.
With the support of
the German Agency for International Cooperation, the division has provided
technical support to the Ministry of Environment on the analysis of available
mitigation scenarios to be included in the updated version of Nationally
Determined Contributions. This document was officially submitted to the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat in which Jordan announced
its intention to reduce 31 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions from all
sectors by 2030.
The division has
also worked with the Information Technology Centre at RSS with the support of
the World Bank to implement the Measurement, Reporting and Verification system
(MRV) which is a computerized national system that links several ministries and
institutions with the Ministry of Environment. The MRV system aims at tracking
greenhouse gas emission reduction for renewable energy and energy efficiency
projects in order to develop national periodic reports for the Ministry of
Environment to monitor the implementation of climate related plans.
In the agricultural
sector, the division, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and the
Ministry of Planning and through the support of the Adaptation Fund, has
implemented a project to strengthen the resilience of the communities working
in agriculture to mitigate the impact of climate changes. This was done through
conducting training workshops in the Jordan Valley and Wadi Musa and through
providing support to small projects with the aim of changing the crop pattern
to better adapt to climate change.
Ajjour also stated
that the division, in cooperation with the Information Technology Center at
RSS, has developed an early warning system in the form of a mobile application
and a web platform to enable farmers to access information about expected
extreme weather events in order to be better prepared and to take the necessary
precautions to protect their crops. The information reaches users through the
application in the form of warning messages, providing practical measures and
best practices under those weather conditions.
Ajjour highlighted the fact that Jordan is among the first
countries in the region that was quick to realize the importance of having a
comprehensive action plan and full cooperation among all sectors to address the
impact of climate change.
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