Your search found 3 records
1 Naber, M. A.. 2017. Controlling groundwater over abstraction: state policies vs localpractices in the Jordan highlands. Water Policy, 19(4):692-708. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2017.127]
Groundwater extraction ; Groundwater management ; Water governance ; Water policy ; Water law ; Legislation ; State intervention ; Highlands ; Local communities ; Farmers ; Wells / Jordan / Azraq Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048254)
The control of groundwater over abstraction is a vexing problem worldwide. Jordan is one of the countries facing severe water scarcity which has implemented a wide range of measures and policies over the past 20 years. While the gap between formal legal and policy frameworks and local practices on the ground is widely acknowledged, few studies investigate how local users react to state regulations and document their tactics to circumvent them. This paper examines the major tools implemented by the Jordanian government to control well expansion and water abstraction and how farmers in the Azraq basin have responded to these measures. It then documents how, in response, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation has recently enacted a series of creative counter-measures, both direct and indirect, in an attempt to toughen law enforcement and raise pressure over groundwater users. The lessons learned are highly relevant for countries with similar situations, both in the region and elsewhere.
2 Naber, M. A.; Molle, Francois. 2016. The politics of accessing desertland in Jordan. Land Use Policy, 59:492-503. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.09.026]
Land tenure ; Land management ; Land rights ; Land policies ; Legal pluralism ; Deserts ; Conflict ; Administration / Jordan / Azraq
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048255)
3 Naber, M. A.; Molle, Francois. 2017. Water and sand: is groundwater-based farming in Jordan's desert sustainable? Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 5:28-37. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2017.03.005]
Groundwater irrigation ; Irrigated farming ; Farming systems ; Deserts ; Highlands ; Water table ; Water quality ; Water productivity ; Water policy ; Water rates ; Surface water ; Cultivated land ; Cropping patterns ; Cost benefit analysis ; Profitability ; Labour / Jordan / Azraq / Mafraq
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048256)
Irrigated agriculture in Jordan's highlands relies on overexploited groundwater. Drops in water tables and water quality, but also tougher policy measures by the government, threaten the sustainability of this activity which has long thrived on lax law enforcement and cheap desert land. This paper is based on field work in two locations of Azraq groundwater basin [around the Azraq oasis and in the northern part (Mafraq)], and first presents farm typologies which show the variability of farm gross margins and the contrast between the two zones. While Mafraq stands for capital-intensive fruit-tree cultivation on legal land/wells, Azraq's agriculture is largely based on olive cultivation and wells that are either illegal or granted permits with higher block tariffs, and has a return that is only one tenth of Mafraq's. The paper reviews the constraints and changes in land, energy, water, labor and input costs and reflects on their bearing on current dynamics and future prospects. While Mafraq is found to be largely immune to policy changes and resilient to foreseeable changes in factor prices or markets, Azraq's future is threatened by various vulnerabilities, including salinization of groundwater, rising energy and labor costs that, in the long run, are likely to be overcome only by farmers emulating the Mafraq intensification model, or accepting temporary losses in the hope of a future legalization of land and wells. Solar energy now emerges as a trump card, in particular for illegal farms which, on the other hand, are challenged by recent tough water pricing regulations that are shown to make them unprofitable. The government's resolve in enforcing these regulation is put to test and will largely decide the future of Azraq's agriculture.
Powered by DB/Text WebPublisher, from
