Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley
Jordan’s water scarcity prompted a national plan whereby treated wastewater is utilized to amend agricultural irrigation water so as to reallocate freshwater to urban/domestic uses. The policy, however, has engendered farmers’ resistance in the Northern Jordan Valley (NJV), causing a stalemate in pu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
MDPI
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129878 |
| _version_ | 1855523583668781056 |
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| author | Tawfik, Mohamed Hassan Al-Zawaidah, Hadeel Hoogesteger, J. Al-Zu’bi, Maha Hellegers, Petra Mateo-Sagasta, Javier Elmahdi, A. |
| author_browse | Al-Zawaidah, Hadeel Al-Zu’bi, Maha Elmahdi, A. Hellegers, Petra Hoogesteger, J. Mateo-Sagasta, Javier Tawfik, Mohamed Hassan |
| author_facet | Tawfik, Mohamed Hassan Al-Zawaidah, Hadeel Hoogesteger, J. Al-Zu’bi, Maha Hellegers, Petra Mateo-Sagasta, Javier Elmahdi, A. |
| author_sort | Tawfik, Mohamed Hassan |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Jordan’s water scarcity prompted a national plan whereby treated wastewater is utilized to
amend agricultural irrigation water so as to reallocate freshwater to urban/domestic uses. The policy,
however, has engendered farmers’ resistance in the Northern Jordan Valley (NJV), causing a stalemate
in putting new infrastructure into operation. This research investigated the socio-economic causes
of farmer resistance and contestation, and examined the government’s institutional approach to
overcome the challenges. We found that the perceived risks of wastewater reuse such as salinization
and restrictions from international markets figure prominently in the farmers resistance. As yet,
farmers have managed to avoid the shift to treated wastewater use by using the political agency of
elite farmers who control the Water Users Associations. These same farmers have adopted informal
water access practices to overcome freshwater shortages. At the same time, small producers who
don’t have possibilities to access extra water and with less political clout seem more willing to irrigate
with treated wastewater. We conclude that understanding the heterogeneous context in which the
envisioned wastewater users operate is key to predicting and solving conflicts that arise in treated
wastewater reuse projects. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace129878 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| publisherStr | MDPI |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1298782025-12-08T10:29:22Z Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley Tawfik, Mohamed Hassan Al-Zawaidah, Hadeel Hoogesteger, J. Al-Zu’bi, Maha Hellegers, Petra Mateo-Sagasta, Javier Elmahdi, A. wastewater irrigation water reuse water allocation freshwater irrigation water infrastructure water management urban areas water scarcity water policies stakeholders water user associations farmers socioeconomic aspects Jordan’s water scarcity prompted a national plan whereby treated wastewater is utilized to amend agricultural irrigation water so as to reallocate freshwater to urban/domestic uses. The policy, however, has engendered farmers’ resistance in the Northern Jordan Valley (NJV), causing a stalemate in putting new infrastructure into operation. This research investigated the socio-economic causes of farmer resistance and contestation, and examined the government’s institutional approach to overcome the challenges. We found that the perceived risks of wastewater reuse such as salinization and restrictions from international markets figure prominently in the farmers resistance. As yet, farmers have managed to avoid the shift to treated wastewater use by using the political agency of elite farmers who control the Water Users Associations. These same farmers have adopted informal water access practices to overcome freshwater shortages. At the same time, small producers who don’t have possibilities to access extra water and with less political clout seem more willing to irrigate with treated wastewater. We conclude that understanding the heterogeneous context in which the envisioned wastewater users operate is key to predicting and solving conflicts that arise in treated wastewater reuse projects. 2023-03-27 2023-03-31T23:40:16Z 2023-03-31T23:40:16Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129878 en Open Access MDPI Tawfik, Mohamed Hassan; Al-Zawaidah, Hadeel; Hoogesteger, J.; Al-Zu’bi, Maha; Hellegers, Petra; Mateo-Sagasta, Javier; Elmahdi, A. 2023. Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley. Water, 15(7):1315. (Special issue: Water Contestations: Socio-Technical Entanglements, Politics and Social Mobilisation) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/w15071315] |
| spellingShingle | wastewater irrigation water reuse water allocation freshwater irrigation water infrastructure water management urban areas water scarcity water policies stakeholders water user associations farmers socioeconomic aspects Tawfik, Mohamed Hassan Al-Zawaidah, Hadeel Hoogesteger, J. Al-Zu’bi, Maha Hellegers, Petra Mateo-Sagasta, Javier Elmahdi, A. Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley |
| title | Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley |
| title_full | Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley |
| title_fullStr | Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley |
| title_short | Shifting waters: the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern Jordan Valley |
| title_sort | shifting waters the challenges of transitioning from freshwater to treated wastewater irrigation in the northern jordan valley |
| topic | wastewater irrigation water reuse water allocation freshwater irrigation water infrastructure water management urban areas water scarcity water policies stakeholders water user associations farmers socioeconomic aspects |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129878 |
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