As populations have continued to grow the world over, resources have not. Arguably the
most essential and endangered resource is fresh water and its increasing scarcity has become
more dire with each passing year. The Middle East, in particular, has been confronting a critical
situation with regard to water resources for some time and yet the region still struggles with how
to cope with its dismal lack of fresh water. Populations in the region have more than quadrupled
during the last five decades and are expected to continue to grow at a fast pace. Whereas the per
capita share of renewable water resources in the region was 1,857 m3
per year in 1967, it is now
less than 566 m3
and falling (ESCWA, 2011). In a region already rife with security concerns,
destabilization, and the current and continuing revolutions originating from the Arab Spring, the
maintenance and protection of water resources continues to compete for the attention of national
leaders.
Within this regional setting, Jordan is a prime country to examine due to its even more
dire lack of fresh water resources as compared with its regional neighbors that are more blessed
with water or have the wealth to create it with desalination technology. Jordan is considered the
fourth driest country in the world, which is not surprising due to the desert environment that
encompasses 92% of its land area (Denny et al., 2008). Its per capita share of renewable water
resources is just 140 m3
per year, which is expected to fall to 90 m3
per year by the year 2025
(Nortcliff et al., 2008). This is significantly lower than the standard “water poverty line” of 500
m
3
per person per year (Denny et al.; MWI, 2009) and appears even graver when compared with
an average per capita water availability in the United States of around 9,000 m3
per year
(Aquastat).
In order to better grasp and visualize how Jordan copes with such a poor water situation
and manages to supply its citizens with a sufficient supply of freshwater, Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) is used to map out the country’s water needs, water resources, and
how the needs are met by the resources. This is no small feat in Jordan, where the current water
requirements for agricultural, municipal, industrial and tourist needs amount to 955 million cubic
meters (MCM) per year, whereas the supply of freshwater amounts to only 780-850 MCM per
year (Nortcliff et al.). In addition, it should be noted that the water requirement amount is
actually a bare minimum because water is already rationed and used in a sparing manner.
Unfortunately, the demand on Jordan’s precious water resources will only continue to rise as the
population and its needs continue to grow and develop.