Regional NGO Master Plan for Sustainable Development in the Jordan Valley
Publisher: EcoPeace Middle East, Global Nature Fund, and Stockholm International Water Institute
Date: 2015
Topics: Assessment, Renewable Resources
Countries: Israel, Jordan, Palestine
The overall objective of this master plan is to promote peace, prosperity and security in the Jordan Valley and the adjacent regions. All three governments, Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian have shown considerable leadership to date in advancing sanitation solutions and in their master planning efforts. Given that so many of the interim interventions are implementable today, under the current geopolitical situation, investment in these interventions today will help solidify the overarching objective of the NGO master plan, advancing regional cooperation towards the two state solution and regional integration. In this way investment in the Jordan Valley presents itself as a priority area for donor statesand the international community, as the investment seeks to bring returns that are greater than just developmentalin nature. At a time when few opportunities appear on the horizon of Middle East peacemaking, investment in the Jordan Valley represents relative low hanging fruit that needs to be advanced promptly.
The NGO Master Plan identifies feasible interventions that will restore the valley’s environmental and ecological values within a realistic financial and economic framework. The plan assumes that a future independent State of Palestine will be recognized as one of the three riparian states in the Jordan Valley, side by side with Israel and Jordan with all three nations entitled to an equitable share of the valley’s resources. The plan assumes furthermore free access to the valley for all people within appropriate and agreed security arrangements.