jordan pulse -

Water security in Jordan is no longer merely a sectoral issue involving the provision of household water or meeting the needs of agriculture and industry. It has become a matter of national security, sovereignty, and stability, as well as one of the country's most pressing strategic challenges, requiring long-term decisions and sustained investment amid growing water scarcity and mounting pressure on natural resources.

In an unequivocal message, His Majesty King Abdullah II placed water at the forefront of national priorities in his Speech from the Throne, delivered on Sunday at the opening of the third ordinary session of the 20th Parliament.

"Water, water, water! Water security is a pillar of our national sovereignty, and under no circumstances will we allow the Jordanian people’s unassailable right to access water to be held hostage. On this matter, there is no room for compromise or appeasement," the King said.

The royal directive went beyond underscoring the importance of the issue, explicitly tasking the government with continuing water security projects and developing proactive plans to protect the country's resources, ensure their sustainability, and safeguard the rights of future generations.

The message reaffirmed the need to move away from short-term responses to water challenges towards long-term strategic planning.

The directive carries particular significance given Jordan's water situation. The Kingdom is among the world's most water-scarce countries, with per capita renewable water resources falling well below the absolute water poverty threshold. Meanwhile, groundwater and surface water resources are facing mounting pressure from population growth, climate change, and rising demand.

Former Minister of Water and Irrigation Hazem Al-Naser told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the king had stressed water security as a national priority, declaring that there was no room for compromise or appeasement when it came to protecting the country's water resources.

Al-Naser said the king had also emphasized the importance of water security along Jordan's northern borders during his address to the United Nations last month. In Sunday's Speech from the Throne, he reiterated the need to implement national projects while preserving the sustainability of the country's available water resources.

He said the king fully recognized that water security was an integral part of national security and that Jordan's water security was linked to neighboring countries. This made the issue fundamentally one of security and strategy, leaving no room for leniency towards anyone attempting to undermine it.

Jordan, he added, was capable of safeguarding its water rights at any cost. Water security would be achieved regardless of the expense, with the National Water Carrier project, which is expected to begin implementation soon, serving as evidence of the country's commitment to securing its water needs for decades to come.

Al-Naser noted that the king's emphasis on water security as a national priority reflected its role as a fundamental pillar of sustainable economic and social development. Achieving it, he said, requires more than securing additional water sources; it demands integrated management that ensures reliable supplies, efficient consumption, and protection of existing resources while meeting the needs of communities and productive sectors and safeguarding the rights of future generations.

Water expert and diplomat Maysoun Al-Zoubi said the king's emphasis on water in his Speech from the Throne before Parliament was not merely a reference to one of the development and public-service challenges facing Jordan. Rather, it conveyed a profound political and strategic message reflecting the scale of the Kingdom's water challenge and placing water security at the top of national priorities as an integral component of state security, sovereignty, stability, and the future of coming generations.

She said the king's declaration that "our water security is a national priority" made clear that the issue extended beyond meeting citizens' daily needs to encompass the protection of water resources and Jordan's water rights as a national and sovereign responsibility that could neither be postponed nor neglected.

Al-Zoubi said the significance of the royal message lay not only in reaffirming the priority of water but also in elevating the debate to a deeper level. This meant moving beyond addressing supply shortages or searching for additional sources towards establishing a comprehensive concept of water security linked to national sovereignty, independent decision-making, and the ability to withstand political, climatic, and economic changes.

She added that the king's assertion that there was no room for compromise or appeasement on water security sent a clear message that Jordanians' right to water was not negotiable and could not be surrendered at the expense of national interests.

Protecting this right, she said, required sustained efforts at the political, diplomatic, and technical levels, alongside the development of a domestic system capable of strengthening self-reliance and diversifying water supply sources.

Water, environment, and climate change expert Ghaida Abu Rumman said the Speech from the Throne conveyed clear strategic messages on water security, reflecting the King's understanding of the scale of the challenges facing Jordan and placing water at the heart of the country's national security, sovereignty, and stability framework.

She said the king's repetition of the phrase "Water, water, water!" three times, alongside his assertion that water security was a national priority, underscored the strategic importance of water as a national issue that could neither be delayed nor subjected to compromise.

Abu Rumman said the speech conveyed three main messages. The first was a domestic and external sovereignty message, affirming that securing water supplies was inseparable from independent national decision-making. Jordan must strengthen its ability to meet its needs independently of changing political and regional circumstances by diversifying water sources and building a more self-reliant system.

The second message was the need to transform water from a public-service and sectoral issue into an existential matter linked to state security and stability, as well as food, economic, and social security. This requires placing water at the forefront of government planning and decision-making.

The third message concerned implementation, reflected in the King's directive to the government to continue water security projects and develop proactive plans to protect resources, ensure their sustainability, and safeguard the rights of future generations.

Abu Rumman stressed that translating these directives into action required accelerating implementation of the National Water Carrier project to desalinate Red Sea water in Aqaba, reducing water losses and preventing attacks on water sources and networks, and expanding wastewater treatment and reuse.

She also called for greater investment in rainwater harvesting and the use of technology and artificial intelligence in water resource management.

Addressing water challenges amid the effects of climate change, declining rainfall, and increasingly prolonged droughts, she said Jordan needed to move from crisis management to proactive planning, integrate water, environmental, and agricultural policies, strengthen partnerships with the private sector, and improve resource management efficiency.

//Petra// AF