Jordan Times
Friday-Saturday, September 28-29, 2001
UNDP grant to preserve ecosystems, promote recycling
By Ruba SaqrAMMAN — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Thursday granted seven non-governmental organisations a total of $137,000 to implement community-based environmental projects necessary to safeguard unique ecosystems around the country.
They will work under the UNDP's Global Environment Facility (GEF)/Small Grants Programme (SGP) to execute five projects, said Munir Adgham, GEF/SGP national coordinator.
The first grant, worth $8,000, will go to a coalition of three NGOs to help them implement a recycling project for the residential and commercial sectors in Shmeisani, Amman. The Jordan Environment Society, the Arab Women's Organisation and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature will work together with residences, hotels, restaurants and companies to sort and collect organic waste, a UNDP statement said.
In later stages, the waste will be sent to the Greater Amman Municipality's Biogas Project in Ruseifa to generate electricity.
Information technology (IT) is the focus of the second grant, worth $50,000, which will be given to the Arab Women's Organisation to establish an online forum for Jordanian NGOs that benefit from the GEF/SGP programme.
One of the Jordan Valley's remote towns, Damia, will make use of $22,000 to support the role of women in integrated management of water and land resources. The area's Women's Committee, with support from USAID's Water Efficiency and Public Information for Action (WEPIA), will oversee grass-root activities like herbal plant production and bee-keeping in addition to designing awareness programmes.
Another $30,000 will go to Al Jabal Al Akdar and Khshaibeh Women's Cooperative to implement a project entitled “Environmental Awareness Campaign and Improved Land Resources Management.”
Receiving technical assistance from the GTZ-Watershed management Project of the Ministry of Agriculture and WEPIA, the east Amman organisation will carry out various schemes like land protection, installation of efficient irrigation systems, bee-keeping and plantation of flowering trees and shrubs.
The fifth package will go to the Irbid Governorate, which will benefit from over $26,000 to promote sound management of natural resources in the Deir Yousef area. The heights there are distinguished for their semi-arid ecosystem that lies in close proximity to a forest area overlooking the Jordan Valley. Entitled the “Productive Gardens and Water Harvesting,” the project will be implemented by the Rural Women Development Society to help improve the livelihoods of the community there.
These five agreements will bring the number of nature-saving projects that are supported by GEF in the Kingdom to 65 with a total value of $1.8 million since the year 1992.