Final report : university development linkage project [UDLP] -- improving the management of water and natural resources in Jordan and Washington State through cooperation in applied research, technology transfer and graduate education : September 1992-April 1999

The project significantly strengthened UOJ/WERSC"s institutional capacity. (1) A masters program in environmental management was established, and program graduates are already having an impact on water and environmental institutions and issues in Jordan and the region. Doctoral programs in agricultural resources and the environment and in chemistry were also established at UOJ. (2) UOJ/WERSC"s institutional capacity was improved through faculty training, improved research management and administrative procedures, more efficient use of external funding, and new technical facilities (including a new WERSC building, mostly funded with non-project funds) and equipment. (3) UOJ/WERSC"s capacity for training and for training of trainers was also improved. A UOJ/WERSC-WSU Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) short course trained 25 participants from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI), the Ministry of Health, Global Cooperation for Environmental Protection, and the UOJ community. EIA is now a required course in the UOJ environmental management graduate program. (4) With its increased technical capacity and higher visibility, WERSC faculty have been taking the initiative in dialogue with the Jordanian government on water resources policy. For example, WERSC helped establish an EIA study as a prerequisite for business licensing and project approvals; WERSC leadership participated in a national technical panel on the water quality emergency associated with 1998 contamination of the Amman water supply; WERSC"s library and WERSC publications serve as major resources to those engaged in studying and making policy; and WERSC researchers participated with the MWI in formulating national water policy. (5) Research links have been established or strengthened with Jordanian institutions and with more than 20 Middle-Eastern, U.S., and European institutions. The project has promoted increased efficiency in water use through UOJ academic degree programs, research, and technical training and outreach programs. Specifically, an annual international Workshop on wadi hydrology is hosted by WERSC and the International Hydrological Programme (IHP)/UNESCO; farmers and extensionists have been trained and have adopted more efficient irrigation techniques; and dissemination of UOJ/WERSC research has improved water use efficiency, including a 30% improvement of irrigation efficiency under protected agriculture, demonstrated decreases in irrigation water demand in the Jordan Valley, demonstrated improved natural vegetation and barley production in Marab Suweid, and identification of optimum sites for enhancing natural recharge and artificial recharge of groundwater, including upper Yarmouk basin sites. The project has also improved the quality and efficient use of wastewater (WW), especially for agricultural purposes, and provided water quality monitoring services to public and private institutions. For example, WERSC has collaborated with other Jordanian entities in research on the impact of the WW treatment plant on the water quality of springs in the Kuferanjeh Basin and a database study for the Jordan Valley. Training courses are in place to improve WW reuse and quality control/assurance in water analysis. A number of water quality issues were characterized through collaborative UOJ/WSU research. Finally, UOJ"s own research has led to water quality improvements. Promising efforts include: purification and re- use of domestic WW using low cost eco-bio technological methods - (funded by the European Union [EU]); removing pathogens from WW by using solar radiation (also EU funded); the use of duckweed for WW treatment on newly constructed pilot ponds at Khirbet As- Samra (funded by the Canadian International Development Agency); substantial improvements in water and environmental quality at Azraq Oasis through a WERSC-U.N. Development Program-Royal Society for Conservation program; and a comprehensive study of WW effluents from 25 Jordanian industries, resulting in recommendations to the participating companies for improved treatment. Finally, the project leveraged USAID funds at a ratio of 3:1.