Jordan Times
Sunday, April 26th, 1998
Badia development programme seeking to improve bedouin
life while retaining tradition
By Ahmad Khatib
SAFAWI — Improving the lot of bedouins without uprooting
them is at the heart of an ambitious joint British-Jordanian
project to revive the badia, a region that covers more than 80
per cent of the Kingdom but hosts only a fraction of the
population.
Mohammad Shahbaz, head of the Jordan Badia Research and
Development Programme (JBRDP), said the pilot project is trying
to link the badia’s economy with that of other regions of
Jordan through the ideal exploitation of its available resources.
It is also trying to improve the day-to-day life of 15,318
bedouins living in Safawi and the neighbouring northeastern parts
of Jordan by preserving their traditional style of living.
“The aim of our researchers is to develop the badia from all
socio-economic and political angles because Jordan’s future
lies in it,” Mr. Shahbaz told journalists during a weekend
familiarisation tour.
“There is huge cooperation between the JBRDP and the local
people, because they understand our goals,” he added.
“In the past, governments tried to improve the situation of
the bedouins through settling them in their areas and forcing
them to change their type of life,” he said. “This
failed because it was wrong.”
There are no exact figures on bedouins in Jordan, many of whom
have been slowly integrated into urban life. However, many of
them still live in Safawi and move across the nearby
Jordanian-Saudi-Syrian-Iraqi frontiers in search of grazing land
to feed herds of sheep. Jordan has over 2.5 million sheep, with
500,000 alone grazing in Safawi and its surroundings.
Sharifa Zein Bint Nasser, JBRDP financing manager, told reporters
that the programme could achieve its goals through using proper
technology, studying available resources to exploit them,
improving and developing the skills of the local people and
combating desertification.
The programme, set up in 1992 under the patronage of HRH Crown
Prince Hassan and the Duke of Kent, operates under the aegis of
Jordan’s Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST)
and Britain’s Royal Geographic Society (RGS).
“We consider local people as our partners in the programme,
so their role is no less important than ours,” she said.
“The most important thing is to strike a careful balance
between the environment’s resources and the local
people.”
She said a decision was taken in 1995 to involve locals in the
scheme by involving one of them as a member of the JBRDP board of
directors.
Sharifa Zein said women, an essential element of the bedouin
community, also played a major role in the programme by taking
care of chattels in addition to the house.
“In the near future, there will be three seats for local
people on the board of directors and one of them will be for a
bedouin woman,” she said. “We need more participation
from Jordanian women.”
According to JBRDP statistics, the badia provides 24.36 per cent
of Jordan’s national development income; 60 per cent of
fossil water resources, JD585 million revenue in mineral wealth,
90 per cent of grazing lands, 10 per cent of traditional energy
production, and 70 per cent of total red meat production.
Salem Aoun, head of the JBRDP technical department, said the
badia’s central location between Syria, Iraq and Saudi
Arabia could enable the programme to help nearby countries.
“Although the average of rain there does not go over 200mm a
year, the badia lands are full of needed energies and wealth
vital for the development process,” he added. “The
badia forms a vital and strategic area for Jordan.”
Sheikh Rakad Shbeb, a local dignitary, said he managed to improve
the situation of his cattle and cultivation on his 1,600-dunum
farm with help from JBRDP researchers.
He said he managed to plant around 45,000 trees, including many
kinds of vegetables and fruit trees through using modern
techniques.
“We have exchanged much knowledge with the JBRDP,”
Sheikh Rakad told reporters during a visit to his farm.
In another project, the JBRDP has managed to produce honey from
the nectar of wild flowering plants.
“It’s very rich in medicinal compounds, flavoured oils,
nutritional substances and trace elements,” said Mr.
Shahbaz. “It’s free of any contamination, because the
badia has no polluting effect of human activities.”
The JBRDP covers over 11,000 kilometres in area, including around
30 villages in Jordan’s northeast. Its field centre is
located in Safawi, 156 kilometres northeast of Amman.