Sustainability and Blue Economy in Water Resources Management: Aqaba - Jordan

Sustainability and Blue Economy in Water Resources Management: Aqaba - Jordan

The concepts of Sustainability and Blue Economy in water resources management reflect contemporary terminology for practices that humanity has intuitively pursued throughout history. These efforts have evolved in alignment with local knowledge, cultural and scientific advancements, driven by the need for self-protection and resource conservation.

While many programs and projects emphasize sustainability, some inadvertently narrow its historical context to the start of their own engagement. This overlooks the fact that most Program and Project Preparation Documents include a “Current Status” analysis, an exercise that inherently requires a comprehensive understanding of past developments. In essence, sustainability is a present-day mindset that builds upon historical foundations, utilizing existing resources responsibly while preserving their integrity for future generations. Core principles of sustainability include:

• Adherence to approved and contracted Documents endorsed by the stakeholders’ during preparation
• Cooperation and coordination with stakeholders and effectively establishing meaningful and inclusive stakeholders’ engagement in decision making enacting during implementation
• Transparency in processes and sharing outcomes, as is always stipulated in the approved Documents.
• Activities implemented with sufficient understanding of the resources and products full life-cycle

A recent news post covering a short training workshop on aquaculture in Aqaba, supported by the GFCR Gulf of Aqaba Coral Reefs Resilience Program highlighted sustainability and blue economy. However, the post appeared to sideline the broader historical context considered in the Program’s Preparation Document. Specifically, it framed the history of aquaculture in Aqaba as beginning in 2023, the year a Recirculating Aquaculture System “RAS” was introduced at the Marine Science Station “MSS” through a GEF project executed and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization “FAO”. To reinforce the principles of sustainability and provide a more holistic picture, a brief overview of aquaculture development and some Blue Economy milestones in Aqaba is presented below:

• Scientific research on aquaculture at MSS began in the late 1980s, funded by national resources.
• Jordan’s first marine aquaculture expert, Dr. Mohammed Al-Zibdah, earned his PhD from Japan in 1995 and initially after return focused on enhancing the Marine Aquarium at MSS.
• Aquaculture research was formally integrated into the Second Phase of the Red Sea Program, supported by the German Government. This led to the establishment of Jordan’s first marine RAS in 2002, housed and operated by MSS.
• The RAS was developed further and supported multiple externally funded research initiatives mostly under supervision of Prof. Al-Zibdah, now Dean of the Faculty of Marine and Basic Sciences at the University of Jordan – Aqaba. Notably, the GFCR Program Document identifies the Faculty as the lead implementer of the Aquaculture Solution in the Document.
• Prominent research included Giant Clam culture, which faced challenges in reaching marketable size, but these are surmountable within targeted efforts. The aquaculture facility also expanded to include a simple Coral nursery.
• Regional collaboration with Egypt’s Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association “HEPCA” led to successful Giant Clam propagation in Egypt under supervision of Prof. Mahmoud Hanafi, yielding economically viable results.

Additional initiatives in Aqaba include an Artificial Reef project by Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority “ASEZA” in partnership with the Regional Organization for Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden “PERSGA” supervised by Dr. Salim Al Moghrabi, a Project at MSS supervised by Dr. Fuad Al Hourani, and several coral transplantation efforts tied to ESIA mitigation measures for some coastal investments.

A comprehensive discussion of Jordan’s Blue Economy cannot be complete without recognizing the multifaceted contributions of Aqaba Development Corporation “ADC”. As outlined in the GFCR Program Document, ADC serves as the implementer and host of Solution 1 in the Document: the “Blue Economy Innovation Centre”. Green Hydrogen sustainable energy and Seawater Desalination initiatives are being realized. The private sector’s achievements in this domain are also highly noteworthy, namely the Mega Touristic and Residential Initiatives. ADC’s and the Private Sector’s endeavors may be elaborated in future communications.