This study is being carried out within the scope of the overall River basin comparative study of
the historical development of the nine selected River Basins around the World, which is
considered as apart of an international research program titled “The Comprehensive Assessment
of Water Management in Agriculture”. The research program aim to improve the rural
development through agricultural water uses strategies in developing countries. The aim of the
River basin comparative study is to derive generic understanding on how societies manage water
resources under growing population and basin closure, which problems were forced, and which
range of solutions are available for a given physical and social context. It will also focus on both
the historical development and the present state of each basin. The study is also expected to
provide in-depth basin studies synthesized along the same methodological lines in order to be
comparable and to be used as a knowledge base for multidisciplinary researchers. The Jordan
River basin was one of the selected basins for the study, which represent the situation of arid and
semi arid catchments suffering from sever water shortage. The pressure on water resources in this
basin is very high and the competition between water users is tough. Furthermore, this basin lies
in a very political tense region where conflict over scarce water resources is internationally
recognized.

This study is being carried out by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in
cooperation with the MREA, the Regional French Mission for Water and Agriculture based in
Amman. The French mission’s activities consists mainly the provision of the technical assistance
to farmers in order to improve on-farm water management and the water distribution network in
the northern Jordan valley and to optimize water use efficiency in agriculture. The French
Mission leads the project of Irrigation and Optimization in the Jordan Valley, (IOJOV) in
cooperation with the Jordan Valley Authority.