Oman- Water is one of the most prominent strategic issues facing Jordan, due to the limited water resources and its direct dependence on surface and common sources with neighboring countries, and among these sources the Yarmouk River occupies special importance as it is one of the most important tributaries of the Jordan River, as it is a vital source to supply Jordan with water, especially in light of the escalation of climate challenges and population growth.
Despite the passage of about 37 years since Jordan and Syria signed an investment agreement and regulating the sharing of the Yarmouk River water between the two countries in 1987, the fall of the ousted President Bashar al -Assad regime returned the agreement to the forefront again, given the lack of commitment of the previous Syrian regime to its provisions despite Jordan’s urgent need for the waters of the Yarmouk River, as well as the Israeli side, which posed a direct threat to Jordanian water security, which led to tension in water relations between states Neighboring.
Lifeline
The Yarmouk River is one of the largest tributaries of the Jordan River, which is 57 km long, of which 47 km inside the Syrian territories, and the rest is located in the northern Jordanian border areas.
The Yarmouk River stems from Lake Al -Muzairib in Daraa, Syria, and then flows to form a part of the Syrian -Jordanian border, to pour in the Jordan River south of Lake Tiberias at the triangle of the Yarmouk turn.
In conjunction with the fall of the ousted Syrian President Bashar al -Assad, Israel took advantage of this to launch military operations and seize strategic lands, including areas in the Quneitra Governorate and Jabal Al -Sheikh, which raised Jordanian concerns about the possibility of controlling the Yarmouk Basin, which constitutes serious implications for water security in Jordan.
Jordan leads the list of the poorest countries in the world, and the per capita water share in Jordan is only 61 cubic meters annually, while the global water poverty indicators show that the annual per capita consumption of water is 500 cubic meters annually, which means that the individual’s annual share of water in Jordan is 88% less than the water poverty line.
Al -Jazeera Net learned from informed sources about the existence of serious discussions and dialogues that will start soon between the Jordanian and Syrian sides in the water and energy file, with the aim of investing the waters of the Yarmouk River and water basins and determining the share of each of them on the basis of activating the agreement signed between Amman and Damascus.
The sources added that the current situation in the new Syria is currently an opportunity to open the water file to achieve Jordan’s water rights in the Yarmouk River basin, with its indication of the importance of Jordan hosting thousands of Syrian refugees for years, which caused additional pressure on the water and draining it significantly.
On the other hand, the Syrian side expressed its welcome in all aspects of water cooperation with the Jordanian side, leading to improving the water reality.
For his part, a member of the Water and Agriculture Committee in the House of Representatives, Musa Hanash, called on the new Syrian government to work hard to obtain a full share of the waters of the Yarmouk River.
In his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, Hantash indicated that the Jordanian share stipulated in the Johnson agreement of Yarmouk water reaches 600 million cubic meters, from which it does not get more than 50 cubic meters, and the reason is that the previous Assad regime created more than 42 dams on the river, while we did not benefit from it for 50 years.
He pointed out that Jordan lives in a difficult circumstance related to a rainy season, which is the worst in decades, and therefore no less than that we get 100 million cubic meters of the waters of the Yarmouk River to be entered to bridge the unit, whose capacity is 150 million cubic meters, and this is our right of water.
Energy and water
He Hanash pointed out that Jordan has actually entered into joint agreements with the Syrian side during the previous period related to electrical connection and energy, calling for the investment of these discussions to achieve full justice by obtaining the rights of each side of the water.
In turn, the Jordanian water expert Duraid Mahasana confirms that the sources of water in Jordan are sufficient for two million people, while about 11 million live in Jordan, pointing out in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net that the main water source of Jordan is the Yarmouk River.
Mahasna said that the Syrian side agreed to dig 26 dams, but he dug 46 to today, indicating that the disturbances caused the increase in wells.
He added that Jordan agreed with the Syrian side to build the Yarmouk Dam, which would have given Jordan 300 million cubic meters of water, but the dam that can accommodate only 110 million cubic meters, while Amman did not get from the dam except 26 million cubic meters, due to Syria’s failure in previous years to provide Jordan with these quantities.
According to water experts, the effects of the decline in the quantities of water from the Yarmouk River on Jordanian water security led to:
- Increased pressure on alternative water resources such as groundwater, which contributed to its drain.
- Agricultural plans in the northern Jordan Valley areas stumbled on the waters of the Yarmouk River.
- The exacerbation of the household water crisis, especially in the summer seasons, knowing that the current rainy season is the most worse for decades.
- Jordan’s reliance on costly sources such as desalination or importing it through regional projects.
Jordan is linked to its water relations with neighboring countries with two important agreements:
- The joint Arab agreement for the Yarmouk Basin Water Management between Jordan and Syria, signed in 1953 and modified in 1987.
- The Jordanian -Israeli peace agreement signed in 1994.
Jordan and Israel, under the auspices of an Emirati, signed an agreement to declare intentions for a joint project between the two countries through which Jordan is provided with a need for desalinated water from the Mediterranean Sea to the Israeli side, and to provide the Israelis with an electrical card from solar energy projects in the Jordanian desert in the south of the Kingdom.
But Israeli media then confirmed that Tel Aviv is studying the stopping of pumping water to Jordan and not extending the agreement, against the backdrop of statements described as “anti-Israel” from senior officials in the Kingdom- led by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi- regarding the war on Gaza.
