| Water scarcity is the greatest environmental challenge facing Jordan.
it is a limiting factor for economic development, especially for the agricultural sector affecting production, income, and sustainability of farms. Water scarcity is a main concern since water demand exceeds water resources, available for both agriculture and non-agricultural purposes.
Jordan suffers from water scarcity due to the dominance of arid and semi-arid climatic conditions; over 90% of the total area is of low rainfall rate, (less than 200 mm/year), in addition to the high evaporation that exceeds 2000 mm/year.
Water quantities in the last years and estimated amounts for the next years indicate the following:
Agricultural sector consumes about 68% .Water deficit is expected to increase in the following years due to the increase of industrial and urban activities, where large amounts of agricultural water are shifted towards non-agricultural activities.
Available surface water resources are almost exhausted and ground water abstraction already exceeds the safe yield.
It is estimated that It is estimated that within just two decades, the proportion of marginal water (including reclaimed and saline water) will be more than 30% of the total water resources available for irrigation. Marginal water will be a highly valuable source of water irrigation. The use of such water in agriculture will be beneficial in increasing agricultural production by increasing irrigated areas and decrease depending on fresh water resources in agriculture.
The Directorate has the following departments and divisions, which carry out the tasks assigned to it: |