VZCZCXRO0627
RR RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHAM #1549/01 1430931
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220931Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2682
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0204
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 5987
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 2856
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3659
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 3885
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA 0404
RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 0891
RUEHMK/AMEMBASSY MANAMA 0679
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0410
RUEHMS/AMEMBASSY MUSCAT 0539
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 1956
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA 0642
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1192
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 1030
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0192
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 5030
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001549 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, OES, IIP/SEG - Bochner 
STATE PASS TO USAID 
EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV PGOV PREL KPAO JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN EARTH DAY 2008 PROGRAMMING ENGAGES YOUTH, MEDIA, 
NGOS, SCIENTISTS, AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS 
 
REF: STATE 27697 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Embassy Amman organized three successful events 
for Earth Day 2008: a high-profile April 19 beach and dive clean-up 
in Aqaba; speaking engagements by Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, a renowned 
speaker on environmental issues from the Union of Concerned 
Scientists; and a regional MEPI-funded course on institutional 
strengthening for environmental agencies from ten countries in the 
region.  All the events garnered positive media coverage and 
supported our efforts to increase environmental awareness in Jordan. 
 End summary. 
 
Aqaba Beach Clean-Up Nets Half Ton of Garbage 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Jordan's southern shoreline is littered with all kinds of 
rubbish, from cigarette butts and plastic bags to diapers and 
charcoal, materials that often find their way into the Red Sea. 
ESTH and the USAID Water and Environment Resources Office (WRE) in 
cooperation with the Jordan Marine Conservation Society (JREDS), the 
Ministry of Environment, and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone 
Authority (ASEZA) organized an April 19 clean-up campaign at the 
Aqaba Marine Park, a protected marine area along Jordan's 
27-kilometer coastline. 
 
¶3.  (U) Event participants included Princess Basma Ali, the 
Chairperson of the JREDS Board; Minister of Environment Khaled 
Irani; and ASEZA officials including Environment Commissioner Bilal 
Bashir.  JREDS also organized the participation of more than 200 
school students, leading private sector representatives, and other 
Aqaba community representatives.  Forty members of the Embassy 
community, including family members, volunteered to participate in 
this event which included a beach clean-up as well as a dive 
clean-up.  USAID/WRE also set up booths to showcase its water and 
environmental conservation projects and funded t-shirts with the 
logos of the partnering organizations, as well as water, gloves, and 
hats to support the clean-up efforts.  According to JREDS, the dive 
recovered fishermen's nets, soda cans, as well as plastic cups and 
bags - in total, more than a half-ton of garbage. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment: The Aqaba clean-up garnered significant positive 
media coverage, a positive step toward enhancing environmental 
awareness, one of the biggest challenges in the Middle East, 
including Jordan.  End Comment. 
 
American Scientist Discusses Climate Change Impacts 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶5.  (U) In conjunction with Earth Day, the Public Affairs section 
and ESTH Hub organized the visit of speaker Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, 
currently working on the national climate program at the Union of 
Concerned Scientists (UCS).  Dr. Ekwurzel spoke about climate change 
impacts, challenges, and proposed solutions with graduate students 
at the Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) and students 
at Al-Hashimiyah University (HU).  She gave a speech at a "Women in 
Science" conference that took place at the Jordan University for 
Science and Technology (JUST) on April 29.  Dr. Ekwurzel also held a 
roundtable discussion with representatives from various 
environmental NGOs in Jordan, and media representatives. 
 
¶6.  (U) Ekwurzel's meetings with government officials included the 
Minister of Environment and officials at the Ministry of Water and 
Irrigation.  Her interlocutors were appreciative of the useful 
information she shared.  By sticking to scientific evidence and not 
taking any political bait offered by media and university 
representatives, Dr. Ekwurzel remained a credible speaker throughout 
her program. 
 
AMMAN 00001549  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Regional Institutional Strengthening Course 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) ESTH, in cooperation with the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and the Jordanian Ministry of Environment, organized 
the May 5-7 institutional strengthening course funded by the Middle 
East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and led by senior EPA trainers. 
The Ambassador and Minister Irani opened the three-day course.  The 
regional course was attended by 25 senior officials representing 
various environmental agencies from ten countries in the MENA 
region. 
¶8.  (U) Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Morocco shared their experiences 
with restructuring their environmental agencies which engendered 
lively discussions and information exchange.  Participants were 
impressed by Jordan's Environmental Rangers' structure and their 
responsibility for enforcing Jordan's environmental laws.  Senior 
EPA managers leading the workshop shared some of recent EPA 
innovations to tie many disparate environmental information sources 
together to create a coherent vision, mission, and plans aligned 
with organizational objectives and resources.  EPA also shared its 
Region III innovations using logic maps based on scientific input. 
The innovative methodology was very well received, and several 
countries (most notably Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia) could well 
request USG assistance to implement such a methodology.  The 
workshop ended on a lively note with a discussion on establishing an 
Arab-region enforcement notification and tracking network. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
HALE