Expert: Speech from the Throne cements water security as a national priority
Amman2 min read
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A professor of hydrogeology, environment, and exploration geophysics at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University affirmed that His Majesty King Abdullah II’s emphasis in the Speech from the Throne on water as a national priority that brooks no compromise places water security in its rightful position among the state's priorities, as it is an issue of national security, sovereignty, economic development, social stability, and a right for future generations.
He stated that the importance of the Royal directive lies not only in reaffirming the scale of the water challenge facing Jordan, but also in the necessity of translating this priority into a long-term national executive approach that shifts the water sector from managing shortages and crisis response to proactive planning and resource management based on integrated scientific and technological foundations.
He emphasized that the Speech from the Throne places the responsibility before national institutions to move toward achievement, from partial solutions to integrated planning, and from treating water as a service file to considering it a strategic national asset through a national program with specific responsibilities and measurable performance indicators.
He explained that Jordan faces escalating water challenges due to limited rainfall, high evaporation, climate change, population growth, increasing water demand, and pressures on groundwater and surface basins, which requires protecting available resources, improving their usage efficiency, providing alternative sources, and ensuring their sustainability.
He added that groundwater represents a vital strategic reserve that requires precise management based on an understanding of its geology, natural recharge rates, and safe extraction levels, warning against its depletion at rates exceeding recharge, due to the resulting drop in levels, degradation of quality, and increased extraction costs.
He pointed to the necessity of launching an advanced national program to explore and evaluate groundwater resources using exploration geophysics, remote sensing, geographic information systems, artificial intelligence, and hydrogeological modeling, contributing to improved drilling and investment decisions and reduced costs and risks.
Regarding the National Water Carrier project and Red Sea desalination in Aqaba, he affirmed that it represents a strategic shift in the water security equation and enhances supply diversity, but it does not replace the need to reform the entire water management system.
He stressed the importance of expanding rainwater harvesting and artificial groundwater recharge, protecting natural recharge areas, and enhancing the use of treated water in agriculture, industry, and afforestation, alongside addressing water loss by upgrading networks, implementing smart monitoring systems, and early leak detection.
