MENARID: Mainstreaming Sustainable Land and Water Management Practices

Jordan's natural resources are very limited since only 5% of the land is arable and it is one of the most water deficit countries in the world.The primary objective of the baseline project is to increase food security and income levels of resource poor households, to be achieved by an integrated program comprising soil and water conservation activities to arrest soil degradation, restore soil fertility and improve sustainable agricultural production, and credit program to provide alternative income sources, mostly for women.The rationale of the GEF support is to facilitate the enhancement of the enabling policy regulatory and incentive frameworks that govern natural resources use, promote integrated land use planning and mainstream SLM into national planning frameworks. Specific project objectives will include:Enhancing the application of SLM by enhancing the scope of the baseline project.Enhancing IWRM and application in the project area as tool for SLM.Sopport development of an environmental monitoring system at national and project level.Initiate a policy dialogue to harmonize government policies and legislation and extend public and governmental awareness programs to enhance the priority of SLM.Support development of a coordination mechanizm to ensure that an efficient and cost effective inter-sectoral planning system is developed and provide capacity building.