Jamila Khair - Amman Mayor Yousef Al Shawarbeh, said that work must be done to enhance the urban resilience of the city of Amman to face water-related challenges such as flash floods and water insecurity, through developing and implementing smart water management systems in the city of Amman using green urban infrastructure, with a focus on strengthening adaptive capacities and promote sustainable water measures.
This came during his participation in the launch workshop of the project “Smart Urban Water Management: Enhancing Adaptive Capacity and Urban Resilience of Amman through Urban Green Infrastructure,” which is being implemented by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, in partnership with the Greater Amman Municipality and in cooperation with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Ministry of Environment, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Al Shawarbeh added that the project is in line with the vision of Jordan’s economic modernization launched in 2022, as it provides support for the goal of launching the Sustainable Water Management Initiative, and the Greater Amman Municipality’s strategic plan 2022-2026, which focuses strongly on improving and developing the city’s infrastructure to confront the challenges of climate change and reduce risks of disasters.
He pointed out that the project is in consistent with the Amman Resilience Plan 2017 and the first climate action plan for the city of Amman, which was launched in 2019 and recently updated, and represented an ambitious step towards building a sustainable, prosperous city that is committed to the pledges made by Amman to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the sustainable development goals associated with the project, which includes clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, climate action, in addition to establishing partnerships to achieve goals.
He stressed that the Municipality seeks to enhance the city's sustainability and make it carbon neutral and climate-preventable by 2050, and that the first climate risk assessment report has been prepared, and the second climate action plan has been launched in line with the changes, new opportunities, and future challenges.
The project, which came within the framework of responding to the increasing challenges resulting from climate change and rapid urbanisation in the capital, Amman, and which extends over a period of two and a half years, aims to strengthen the city’s adaptive capabilities to confront the increasing risks of flash floods resulting from increasing urbanisation and weak rainwater drainage systems, while providing innovative and sustainable solutions for water management, including rainwater harvesting as part of efforts to alleviate water scarcity in Jordan, which is one of the most water-poor countries in the world.
In turn, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Jordan, Harry Verweij, confirmed that the project helps the city of Amman confront the effects of climate change and deal with them through best practices and expertise in a way that helps the city benefit from, and reuse rainwater while preserving the infrastructure and the lives of residents.
For his part, the Japanese Ambassador to Jordan, Okuyama Jiro, praised the joint efforts and investment in confronting one of the most prominent challenges facing Jordan, in light of the shortage of water resources and the increase in population due to waves of refugees, in a way that contributes to achieving sustainable urban development.
The National Coordinator of the United Nations Human Settlements Program in Jordan, Engineer Dima Abu Dhiab, said that this project is a response to climate challenges, and an attempt to adapt to them using flexible and sustainable solutions, by enhancing cooperation between all partners to provide smart solutions for rainwater management and mitigation of flood risks in Amman.
The workshop, which was attended by the City Manager of Amman, Engineer Ahmed Al Malkawi, and a number of relevant directors in GAM, included signing a memorandum of understanding between the Amman Municipality and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, to enhance urban resilience to face water challenges and flash floods through smart systems for urban water management in the city of Amman.
It is noteworthy that the project is based on the results of a previous joint project between the United Nations Human Settlements Program and the Greater Amman Municipality, funded by the Japanese government, where 120 sites were identified as “flood hotspots” in the city that require immediate interventions, with the aim of benefiting from successful models such as the pilot project “Green Flowers Triangle ” to implement similar initiatives that enhance environmental sustainability in the city.
The project represents an important opportunity to ensure the sustainability of water resources in the city and reduce environmental risks on residents, especially the most vulnerable groups such as Syrian refugees and vulnerable communities.