AMMAN — The chairman of the Royal Society for the
Conservation of Nature (RSCN), Khaled Irani, described last Monday as a "black
day for the Dana reserve" on a Facebook post after the Cabinet decided to slash
Dana Biosphere Reserve by 60sq.km.
اضافة اعلان
The Cabinet ordered the Ministry of Environment that the
reserve, which is 300sq.km, be reduced in size. Irani said in his Facebook
post that the decision to slash “such a large area of the reserve” was taken
without the input of the RSCN, which acts as a caretaker of Jordan’s nature
reserves.
The decision follows
years of studies on the feasibility of copper mining in the area.
In an interview with Jordan News, Irani, which is also the
former minister of environment, said: "The Dana Biosphere Reserve has
global importance, it contains plants that were not previously recorded by
science, and they are rare in the world. Its importance is not that different
from the archaeological and historical importance of Petra. Dana reservation’s
global environmental and natural importance should not be underestimated.”
Irani said that the RSCN hopes the government reconsiders
its decision. “This is the reason for our media campaign that we are launching.
The main goal is for people to become aware of the value of the Dana Biosphere Reserve,"
he added.
The hope is that the media campaign will generate pressure
on the government that will be large, clear, and understandable, and not just
slogans, he stated.
“What we are trying to convey to the government is that this
wrong decision is based on incorrect information. The most important is the
economic and environmental value of the Dana region, which is supported by
ecotourism and sustainable management rather than the mining of this region for
copper. These excavations are destructive to the region and harmful to health,”
Irani said.
While the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is
responsible for mining operations, Irani said, the Ministry of Environment
still has to be the one that reduces the size of the reserve, with the final
decision lying with the prime minister.
A lingering issue
The issue of copper mining in the reserve existed before the
recent announcement, with the Cabinet agreeing in 2016 to copper and manganese
exploration within a specific area of the Dana Biosphere Reserve.
According to the official statement issued by the Ministry of Energy and
Mineral Resources on Thursday, previous studies conducted by the
Natural Resources Authority found quantities of copper in the Feynan and
Khirbet Al-Nahhas area of Dana Biospere Reserve.
On February 4, 2016, a memorandum of understanding was
signed with the Integrated Mining and Exploration Company to explore Khirbat Al-Nahhas
in the north of the reserve and Feynan in the south.
However, the memorandum has been extended four times since
that date, because of pushback from the RSCN, which has not allowed the company
to enter areas included in the memorandum. The company has not been able, since
2016 until today, to complete the requirements laid out in the memorandum of
understanding and it informed the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of
its desire to withdraw from the project.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral resources recently
released a statement saying that it is keen to preserve the environment, while
at the same time exploring investment opportunities.
Investment in the area is expected to reach about JD200
million and estimated to provide about 3,500 job opportunities, according to
the ministry.
A ‘real’ opportunity for jobs
In a telephone interview with a resident of Dana, Taysir
Qteishat, an activist in the field of environmental protection, told Jordan
News that "The population of Dana and Qadisiyah is about 20,000, and so
far no party has come forward to ask about our opinion of what is happening in
our region.”
He added that he and others in the area were among the first
to support the idea of founding The Dana Biosphere Reserve "in order to
provide job opportunities for the people of the region, to encourage
ecotourism, and to protect biodiversity in Dana and in Jordan in general.”
However, he added that "If
the government has submitted real studies on the 60km area of reserve, we do
not find any objection to that. This is a real opportunity for people to get
job opportunities now that the reserve is not what it used to be.”
The activist added
that there are currently areas adjacent to the reserve that contain animals and
plants that need protection, and that if the government were to expand the
reserve to these areas while slashing from the areas that contain copper
deposits it might be a win-win.
This is not the first project to potentially impact the
area’s environment. Qteishat pointed to a wind farm in the south of the area
that “impacted the migration of birds. Dana is an important corridor between
Africa and Europe through which birds pass.”
Although the RSCN initially objected to the project, it eventually relented.
“When approval was gained to build the Lafarge Cement
Factory, which is located directly next to the reserve and is a source of
pollution, it provided a number of scholarships to the people of the area, and
also provided a clinic, and a building for the club,” Qteishat said.
“While we are now not receiving any benefit from the
reserve, I think that benefiting from a small area of it, provided that
environmental protection is preserved in the rest of the reserve, would not be of
great harm,” Qteishat said.
However, another environmental activist, Safaa Al-Jayousi, had
a different opinion. She told Jordan News that "So far, we have not seen
real studies presented to citizens that talk about the economic support claimed
by the authorities. The various figures presented by the Ministry of Energy and
government specialists show the great confusion as a result of such a decision.”
Jayousi said that a balance must be made when it comes to weighing
economic and environmental benefits, and that similar projects require an
environmental impact study. “Unfortunately, the winning party is always the
economic side, even if the investment is small," Jayousi said.
"There must be
consideration of the environmental protection Law 2017 (12-A), which stipulates not to
damage the reserves and not to destroy them or damage the geological or
geographical formations in them, or even develop mining,” Jayousi said. “But
what is happening now is an attempt to manipulate and infringe on this
law."
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