AMMAN —
Ministry of Water spokesperson
Omar Salameh told
Jordan News that there is a noticeable reduction in the flow
of water from Syria to Jordan, and that all issues related to the 1987 Yarmouk
agreement “will be dissected diligently” during the deliberations of the Joint
Water Committee which will meet at a yet-to-be-decided date in the future.
اضافة اعلان
But while Salameh expressed uncertainty
about the nature of solutions that will be proposed when members convene, he
stressed that “Jordanian concerns and interests will be voiced”.
According to Sputnik news, Jordanian
Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat said that the Jordanian government is
aware of Syria’s violations of the agreement that regulates the flow of Yarmouk
River waters.
The agreement, which is a modification of
a similar Jordanian-Syrian deal dating back to 1953, stipulated that Jordan
would commit to the cost of building an irrigation dam, known as the Wahdah Dam
(Unity Dam), on a part of the
Yarmouk River that falls on the border between
the two countries.
The agreement also clarifies that Syria
will be allowed to build up to 28 additional dams that collect Yarmouk waters,
all on the condition that Jordan receives at least 200 million cubic meters per
year.
Given Jordan’s water shortages and the
additional economic pressure created by the Syrian refugee crisis, the Ministry
of Agriculture is also concerned about the meager amount of water Jordan
receives from Syria, which is significantly less than the amount initially
agreed upon by the two parties.
Jordanian water expert and former
co-chairman of the Joint
Jordanian-Syrian Water Committee Dureid Mahasneh told
Jordan News that “whatever Syria exploits from the Yarmouk aquifer will most
likely have a negative impact on the flow of water from the Yarmouk River to
Jordan”.
Mahasneh also said that for many years,
Syria used rainfall water as their main source for grain crops, but that
recently, “Syria started using irrigation water instead, which changed their
agricultural pattern.” This pattern shift enabled Syria to plant other crops,
like trees, which could be possibly detrimental to Jordan.
And while Syria’s intentions are not
hostile, he added, its government has retained control over the territory
covered by the agreement after a decade of civil war and instability, so “there
is no excuse today for continued violations of the agreement”.
According to Mahasneh, Syria has built 46
additional dams, which is significantly more than the number allowed by the
agreement.
Sami Tarabieh, environmental project
coordination specialist for the
UNDP, believes that “regardless of any
political factors, the committee must consider a more comprehensive and
integrated approach to the Yarmouk issue, beyond a mere focus on the number of
dams being built”.
“The Yarmouk basin does not recognize
political boundaries and issues. It only operates on natural boundaries,” he
said, adding that studies show the Yarmouk Basin as being “extremely vulnerable
to drought”, and that the role of climate change should not be underestimated.
Climate change will doubtlessly affect
both Syria and Jordan, and to mitigate its damaging effects, increased regional
cooperation is needed, said Tarabieh.
Such emphasis on climate change, when it
comes to the Yarmouk agreement, was echoed by the Jordanian director for
EcoPeace Middle East, Yana Abu Taleb, who believes that the first step toward a
resolution is to meet “and discuss climate change”, especially knowing that
Jordan’s water shortage has reached a critical point.
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