VZCZCXRO4485
RR RUEHDE
DE RUEHAM #7734/01 2831410
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101410Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4758
INFO RUEHDOI/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 3404
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 2486
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 1659
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 0728
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0945
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0263
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 3904
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 4066
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0165
RUEHMS/AMEMBASSY MUSCAT 0415

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 007734 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
State for NEA/ELA, NEA/RA, OES 
State Pass USTR/Prescott 
Interior for International/Senhadji and for FWS 
USDA for Forest Service/International 
EPA for International/Prather, Medearis 
DAMASCUS for Westphal 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ETRD EAID PGOV JO
SUBJECT: NGOs, Chamber Satisfied with Progress on Environmental 
Governance 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Leaders from two of Jordan's largest 
environmental NGOs and from the Jordan Chamber of Industry are 
satisfied with the transparency and engagement of the GOJ on 
environmental policy issues.  One major NGO noted its pleasure at 
the creation of the "Environmental Rangers" enforcement unit 
affiliated with the Ministry of Environment.  The two major NGOs are 
concerned - but not alarmist - about environmental issues in the 
Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs).  End summary. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
RSCN - NGO Enforcing CITES, Hunting Laws 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) DAUSTR Jennifer Prescott and EPA Trade and Environment 
official Tiffany Prather met Royal Society for the Conservation of 
Nature (RSCN) Acting Director General Yehya Khaled on September 20 
to discuss environmental enforcement, public participation and 
regional training.  Note: Current Environment Minister Khaled Irani 
worked for 17 years at the RSCN, and was its Director General when 
he was called to serve as Minister in April 2005.  RSCN may well be 
the largest environmental NGO in the Middle East, and is twice the 
size of the Ministry of Environment.  End note. 
 
¶3.  (U) Khaled began by noting that the GOJ has given a mandate to 
the RSCN to operate Jordan's national parks, to issue hunting 
licenses, and to act as both the scientific and management authority 
for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 
(CITES).  As part of its duties, RSCN trains customs officials in 
recognizing endangered species.  RSCN receives a total of 7% of its 
budget from the GOJ for performing all of the tasks delegated to it 
by the GOJ.  The RSCN raises the other 93% itself.  It remains very 
much an independent NGO.  Note: USAID has been a major supporter of 
the RSCN for many years, including an endowment and many individual 
projects, e.g. protected area management training provided by the 
U.S. Forest Service. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On enforcement, Khaled said that RSCN occasionally butts 
up again political heavyweights when important visitors from the 
Gulf visit Jordan and bring falcons for hunting.  He did not 
elaborate, but implied that rules are occasionally bent for such 
guests.  He went on to say that he sees RSCN's role as pressuring 
the government to abide by the rules. 
 
-------------------------------- 
RSCN Sees Rangers as a Good Step 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Khaled said the creation of the environmental rangers was 
"very good," and he noted that RSCN has been working with the police 
for seven years.  RSCN now has a staffer who works full-time at the 
Public Security Directorate.  Khaled said he wants to see the 
environmental rangers succeed, and he endorsed EPA support for that 
effort.  RSCN is on both the steering committee and the management 
committee of the environmental rangers, where it works to define 
procedures and roles.  Khaled said he had advocated for the rangers 
to be unarmed, but that the decision had been made for the rangers 
to carry weapons. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Outreach and Transparency Seen as Adequate 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (U) On outreach, Khaled noted that the Ministry of Environment 
has established an advisory group that meets every two or three 
months to discuss policies and regulations.  He added that the 
outreach department at the Ministry of Environment was weak and that 
the Ministry needs support on this issue.  Khaled felt that there is 
"enough" transparency from the GOJ in environmental governance, but 
with the caveat that some government employees don't want the 
process to be transparent. 
 
 
AMMAN 00007734  002 OF 004 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
RSCN Working Throughout the Region 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Regional training and outreach are becoming major components 
of the RSCN's work.  Khaled said that the RSCN works with either 
Environment Ministries or NGOs in Syria, the West Bank and Gaza, 
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq, and the UAE.  Khaled speculated 
that current Minister of Environment Khaled Irani was selected as 
Minister in part because of Irani's regional connections developed 
as Director General of the RSCN.  RSCN's training goals are to 
develop awareness programs, build institutional capacity in NGOs, 
support protected area management, and improve enforcement capacity. 
 Some countries pay their own way for the training; others are 
supported by outside donors, such as Germany's Hanns Seidel 
Foundation, which supports training for Syria.  Khaled said RSCN 
provides training in topics where it has particular expertise.  The 
institutional and cultural setting for NGOs in the Middle East is 
weak, said Khaled.  Syria has only one environmental NGO, he 
claimed.    This is why the RSCN devotes significant resources to 
institutional development of NGOs. 
 
---------------------------- 
Role for RSCN in EPA Course? 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) EPA's Prather told Khaled about the upcoming environmental 
inspection course in Amman, and about the creation of a network of 
Middle East environmental enforcement officials through the 
International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement 
(INECE.)  She speculated that there are many ways that RSCN could 
support and be involved in these projects, such as helping to design 
the program, assisting with logistics, doing case studies, 
delivering the course, identifying participants and training 
trainers.  Khaled embraced these ideas warmly and invited his 
Training Director Rami Jihad to join the meeting.  Jihad noted the 
importance of empowering the environmental rangers and making them 
proud of their work.  He said that even a simple certificate or a 
small object from EPA would make a big impression. 
 
------------------------- 
RSCN - QIZs "Not Perfect" 
------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Khaled said that the environmental picture in U.S.-linked 
Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs) is "not perfect," but he noted 
that the QIZs are not in biodiverse areas which would be of concern 
to RSCN.  In response to a question from Prather, Khaled replied 
that it "makes sense" for the EPA course in February to include a 
case study on the QIZs. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
Marine Conservation Society Wants Proper Valuation 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶10.  (U) In a separate meeting, Fadi Sharaiha, Executive Director of 
the Royal Marine Conservation Society (RMCS), said that RMCS is one 
of three NGOs (the others are the Royal Society for the Conservation 
of Nature and the Jordan Environment Society) with a seat on the 
Ministry of Environment's Advisory Board.  RMCS, which focuses on 
marine protection along Jordan's 27-kilometer coastline, works 
closely with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority.  RMCS also 
works regionally, he said, and is engaged in Oman with protecting 
turtle nesting habitat from encroachment. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
NGO: QIZs Are Putting Stress on Environment 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Sharaiha's primary concern is economic valuation of 
resources.  When asked about the QIZs, Sharaiha painted a picture of 
 
AMMAN 00007734  003 OF 004 
 
 
foreign investors and foreign workers operating an industry in 
Jordan where the full environmental costs of the industry are not 
taken into account.  He said that he felt the QIZs were "stressing" 
Jordan's resources, and that the economic value of those resources 
was not adequately counted.  "Are QIZs worth it?" he asked 
rhetorically.  He voiced special concern over groundwater and solid 
waste, although he said the Al-Hassan QIZ looks "neat" (clean) on 
the surface. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
NGO: Jordan Needs More Planning and Enforcement 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶12.  (U) What Jordan really needs, Sharaiha said, is a master plan 
for land use.  RMCS wants economic development, he said, but linked 
with strengthened planning, environmental protection, and labor 
protection. He commented on the gap between good legislation and 
good enforcement.  He went on to cite two cases where two real 
estate projects had been stopped because of public attention brought 
to the environmental costs. 
 
¶13.  (U) Sharaiha suggested that training for judges on 
environmental law would be an important contribution to 
strengthening environmental enforcement in Jordan.  He went on to 
suggest that the judges' training should not be technical in nature, 
but should show judges the results of environmental crimes and 
demonstrate there are real consequences.  This would stiffen the 
judges' willingness to impose real costs on firms and workers who 
break environmental laws.  Most people still see the environment and 
the economy as being in opposition, he said.  Prather said that 
under EPA's regimen, training for judges would be the next step to 
follow the February 2007 course for environmental inspectors, if 
funding could be found. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Public Diplomacy - Show Local Benefits 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Following Prescott's comments on possible USG support for 
the environmental fund and the environmental rangers, Sharaiha 
cautioned about the public relations effect of USG support for the 
rangers.  People will perceive this as the USG empowering "state 
agencies," he said, in effect another arm of the state's police 
authority, albeit one with humanitarian motives.  On public 
diplomacy, he stressed the need to do local activities and to have 
non-USG partners talking about the local benefits of USG-supported 
activities on environment, a concept he called "social marketing." 
He admitted the presence in Jordan of the donor mentality, where 
people are used to receiving things from donors with little or no 
effort on their own part.  He stressed the importance of building 
awareness and support among stakeholders for an activity.  He 
specifically recommended more engagement of community-based 
organizations (CBOs).  There needs to be a real sense of ownership 
of a particular decision so that there is continuity, he said. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Jordan Chamber of Industry Has Policy Role with GOJ 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶15.  (U) On September 20, Prescott and Prather met Dr. Zaki Ayoubi, 
Chairman of the Board and Acting President of the 12,000-member 
Jordan Chamber of Industry.  The Chamber now has a formal role in 
industrial policy, including environment.  This was a change, Ayoubi 
said, from the old days when the private sector was excluded from 
policy development.  Ayoubi seemed pleased with the level of 
transparency in the policy-making process. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Environment Issue, Ministry Both New 
------------------------------------ 
 
 
AMMAN 00007734  004 OF 004 
 
 
¶16.  (U) Ayoubi described the environment as a new issue in Jordan, 
and the Ministry of Environment as being in learning mode.  The 
Minister of Environment had recently visited the Jordan Chamber of 
Industry and had met the Board.  Cooperation on environment is 
developing, Ayoubi said, but so far, industry is "not part of the 
system."  He supported market-based instruments for promoting 
environmental protection, saying that the old command-and-control 
methods "won't work."  He noted Jordanian skill at evading such 
mechanisms, but said that if regulations made business sense, they 
would be implemented quickly.  Note:  USAID is promoting adoption of 
Environmental Management Systems among selected industries in Jordan 
to offer a voluntary system of improved environmental management 
that makes good business sense. 
 
¶17.  (U) Ayoubi also discussed the composition of Jordanian 
industry, saying that many firms are tiny and would not be able to 
individually afford expensive pollution control equipment.  He 
agreed with the assertion that this is a market opportunity for 
business-to-business environmental services. 
 
¶18.  (U) USTR and EPA cleared this cable. 
 
RUBINSTEIN