Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world and hosts the second-highest number of refugees per capita globally. A fast-increasing population, rapid urbanization and extreme weather-related hazards, such as drought and flash floods, compound the risks to already vulnerable refugee hosting communities in Jordan.
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in partnership with the UK Met Office and the government of Jordan is working to improve anticipatory action and climate change adaptation to enhance the resilience of refugees and their host communities. Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Jahez project is supporting the government of Jordan’s “Climate-Refugee Nexus Initiative” which was launched by HM King Abdullah II at COP27 and is part of the package of solutions of the COP28 Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace.
Through the Jahez project, which means ‘ready’ in Arabic, IWMI and its partners build ‘climate-ready’ refugee hosting communities in Jordan. As the project is transitioning from start up to implementation, the national steering committee that is chaired by Jordan’s Ministry of Environment recently reviewed approaches to localise climate and weather information and establish robust disaster risk management and climate adaptation structures across demonstration sites to support the resilience of refugee and host communities.
Jordan’s Minister of Environment, Muawieh Radaideh, recommended that to ensure buy-in from partners and communities the project needs to demonstrate tangible resilience impacts on communities in Jordan. He highlighted the importance of collaboration across stakeholders and initiatives to achieve results across climate change initiatives.
During a technical meeting key stakeholders working to support effective localisation of climate and weather information systems shared experiences and learnings across the sector. This multi-stakeholder dialogue was an opportunity for representatives from the Jordanian Meteorological Department (JMD), the National Center for Security and Crisis Management (NCSCM), sectoral ministries such as the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Local Administration and the Ministry of Water and Irrigation as well as development partners to reflect on the realities of accessing and using weather information in the municipalities.
Participants included focal points from three municipalities in Jordan — Irbid, Ramtha and Azraq — that are highly exposed to hazardous weather events and where the Jahez project will operate. The participants agreed that weather information issued with guidance and advisory on what risk-specific actions can be taken, will improve utilisation of risk information. This, coupled with improved knowledge of how to prepare for and respond to hazards, will leave communities less vulnerable to these hazards.
The stakeholders also mapped out the process between issuance of a forecast and action being taken and recognised the need for defined responsibilities across departments and actors and for tailored early warning advisories. The mapping will advance a landscape analysis and help identify opportunities to strengthen analysis, dissemination and use of risk information for communities across Jordan. Stakeholders also highlighted the importance of having robust institutional systems for weather and climate information used for disaster preparedness planning to be able to support resilience at the community level tailored to refugee and host communities.
The recommendations proposed by the stakeholders were both technically sound and grounded in practical realities. The inclusive nature of the dialogue fostered a sense of ownership and commitment to advancing the goals of the Jahez project.
These activities and a series of bilateral meetings with key partner have helped refine Jahez’ approach and identify critical investment opportunities to support the effective localisation of weather forecasts and early warnings to improve disaster risk management in Jordan.
Going forward, Jahez will focus on the development of impact-based weather forecasts and early warning tools to inform preparedness and early action, and to determine, anticipate and mitigate impacts of hazardous weather events on lives, livelihoods and assets. This will support decision-making and planning at local level. The project will thus enhance the implementation of national disaster risk reduction policies at municipality level. Partnerships and collaboration with government departments and humanitarian and development initiatives help generate evidence and learning of how risk information can be effectively utilised at municipality and community level.
