VZCZCXRO0595
RR RUEHAST RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHAM #0829/01 0961339
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061339Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4813
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 6218
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0487
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 0873
RUEHDOI/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000829 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/RA, AND OES 
STATE PASS USAID 
EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL/MEDEARIS 
USDA FOR FOREST SERVICE/INTERNATIONAL 
INTERIOR FOR INTERNATIONAL/WASHBURNE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV PGOV EAID ECON UN IZ KU SA JO
SUBJECT: UNCC-funded Badia Ecosystems Restoration Program Takes 
Small Steps Forward 
 
AMMAN 00000829  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The United Nations Compensation Commission 
(UNCC), through its Compensation Fund established to reimburse 
countries for losses and damages resulting from the 1990 Iraqi 
invasion of Kuwait, awarded $160 million to Jordan in 2005 for the 
Badia Ecosystems Restoration Program (BERP).  Four years later, a 
new management team is in place in the Jordan UNCC office, a 
road-map for restoration has been developed, project proposals have 
been submitted for review, and there is an expectation that 
activities could soon begin to restore the ecosystems damaged from 
the influx of refugees and livestock resulting from the first Gulf 
war.  Challenges, however, remain.  The local community, dismayed by 
the lengthy project review process, will need convincing that 
activities will soon begin and USAID assesses the program as too 
narrowly defined to have a lasting impact. End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a 
subsidiary organ of the United Nations Security Council, was created 
in 1991 to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damage 
suffered as a direct result of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. 
Beneficiary countries include Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and 
Iran, all of which can seek compensation for loss of property, 
deaths, loss of natural resources, harm to public health, and 
environmental destruction.  The UNCC awarded Jordan $160 million in 
compensation in June 2005 to be used for the rehabilitation of its 
terrestrial ecosystem by revitalizing areas damaged by refugees and 
their livestock that fled to Jordan.  Since 2005, Jordan has 
submitted to the UNCC several Monitoring and Assessment (M&A) 
studies addressing the depletion of groundwater as well as 
terrestrial, agricultural, and wetland resource damages.  To date, 
no projects have begun. 
 
¶3.  (U) Under UNCC terms, any funded remediation/restoration project 
should be designed to restore rangeland and wildlife habitats to 
pre-crisis levels and implemented with the full cooperation and 
participation of the local community.  Fund managers consider it 
essential to include the majority of stakeholders -- i.e. farmers, 
livestock producers, and herders -- in project development and 
implementation.   For the Badia Ecosystems Restoration Program 
(BERP), community involvement requires flexibility in the means of 
communication with residents, whether through outreach to local 
governmental agencies or NGOs, and will vary depending on project 
scale and community size.  In more remote areas with communities 
averaging 250 people, communication will be managed in cooperation 
with tribal leaders and village councils. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Director of the GOJ-established office to manage the fund 
and liaise with the UNCC, Dr. Abdel-Nabi Fardous, told ESTHOffs that 
Badia residents had become skeptical of the project and the UNCC 
process because implementation had been delayed during the initial 
funding negotiations.  He reported that many proposals previously 
submitted did not adhere to UNCC guidelines, thus the holdup.  Royal 
Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) Director General Yehya 
Khaled elaborated, calling the process "analysis-paralysis," noting 
that the Badia area has long been neglected and suffered 
considerable environmental degradation after the first Gulf War.  As 
a result, people have become tired of waiting for changes to be 
implemented.  According to Fardous, many proposals were resubmitted 
to the reviewing committee in late December 2008, and the committee 
will soon make awards. 
 
¶5.  (U) To move forward, a strategic road-map has been developed for 
the BERP and includes a clear implementation method, deliverables, 
comprehensive work-plans, and sustainable production system plans 
associated with the restoration of targeted areas.  The road-map 
further includes a preliminary demonstration phase of five to seven 
years to develop pilot projects.  The restoration efforts will begin 
in five ecosystems identified as priorities because of their 
severely degraded ecosystems/landscapes.  The targeted, diverse 
ecosystems represent some of the largest and flattest parts in 
Jordan where the vegetation is dominated by low shrubs and annual 
herbs and plants, representing important grazing areas for sheep and 
goats.  These areas are threatened by the extension of rainfed 
farming (wheat and barley), but they have the highest recovery 
potential because of good soil properties and frequent floods.  UNCC 
will directly monitor the funds identified for these projects as 
well as implementation to ensure appropriate resource allocation. 
 
AMMAN 00000829  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Despite recent progress by the GOJ and UNCC, 
USAID concludes that, as conceived, the narrow focus of programs 
allowed by the UNCC program would not result in sustainable 
restoration of the Badia ecosystems.  The program interventions are 
limited to subsidy of animal numbers and short-term compensation to 
herders.  Furthermore, development of alternate long-term sources of 
income was not part of the approved program. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
BEECROFT