Water Management in Jordan Essay -- Environmental Management Science

Water shortage is a global problem and the consequences of water deficit can be a future crisis. According to Hasan Ali (2002, 1-3) the world large water deficient region is the Middle East. Jordan is one of the water-scarce countries in this area, Jordan is similarly in the top of ten water-deficient countries. The reasons of this problem are the features of nature such as semi-arid climate, few water sources and low precipitation. Because of that, the country has the lowest per head basis of water in the world. The other reasons are social effects namely rising population, resulting from a high degree of urbanization, gain of engineering systems and economic development (Akawwic et al. 2009, 197-198). The aim of this essay is to suggest the most effective solutions to avoid the future crisis in Jordan. Four solutions will be analysed in this essay: firstly, adoption of irrigation systems; secondly, water harvesting; thirdly, desalination; fourthly, water management. Initially, the largest customer of water resources is the agriculture sector. It is a really danger for Jordan because the statistics show that water consumption of agriculture is about 80 % of all water. Therefore, firstly, the suitable solution is to reduce water consumption of agriculture (Akawwic et al 2010, 201). It could be realized with using effective irrigation methods such as drip or micro irrigation (ibid.,202). The irrigation methods, in particular, â€Å"furrow and basin irrigation†, which were often used in past, required large quantities of water. Therefore, these approaches were substituted by micro irrigation, in order to economize water resources (Abbasi et al 2010, 337). Generally, micro irrigation is the favourable and effective method, but there is in... ...October 24, 2010 ) Beithou. N. 2006. Proposed water management and control device for water losses problem in Jordan. J.Environ. Eng. Sci. 5:443-446. EBSCOhost http://www.search.ebscohost.com / (accessed November 5, 2010) Hasan Ali, B. 2002. Modern and Traditional Irrigation Technologies in the Eastern Mediterranean: Water-demand management in the Mediterranean. 2nd ed. Ottawa, ON, CAN: IDRC Books. Ebrary http://site.ebrary.com/lib/astana/ (accessed ) Hassan,Y, F. Molle and J-P. Venot. 2008. Irrigation in the Jordan Valley: Are water pricing overly optimistic? Agricultural Water Management. 95:427-438. Science Direct http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (accessed October 24, 2010 ) Mohsen. S. 2007. Water strtegies and potential of desalination in Jordan. Desalination. 203: 27-46. Science Direct http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (accessed November 5, 2010 )