Socio-economic, Agricultural, Health and

Socio-economic, Agricultural, Health and Environmental Study for Watershed Management in Al-Me’raad - Jerash/Jordan.

Prepared by

Nabil Hailat,DVM, Ph.D, Professor of Pathology, Animal Health and Environmental Consultant Department of Pathology and Animal Health Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Jordan University of Science and Technology Irbid-Jordan Mobile: +962 795 885219 Home: +962 2 7406995 Office: +962 2 7201000 ext. 22026 or 22016 E-Mail: [email protected]

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Socio-economic, Agricultural, Health and Environmental Study for Watershed Management in Al-Me'raad - Jerash/Jordan. 1. Introduction: If a country’s fate is determined by its natural resources, then the future of Jordan will mainly depend on the optimal management of its scarce water resources. Jordan is one of the world’s ten most water scarce countries (Global water assessment report 2003). The water consumption per capita in Jordan is around 170 cubic meters per annum. Moreover, Jordan is located in the Middle East, an area characterized by volatile socio-political dynamics. Indeed, one of the major reasons behind Jordan’s water scarcity lies in its rapid un-natural population increase due to refugees’ influx from the region’s main military conflicts in 1948, 1967 and 1991. The Jordanian rural communities suffer most from lack of water, and they are being challenged on daily basis with the task of securing clean water and sanitation for households, farms and small businesses. Efforts in community-based water management are always a major priority in Jordanian water policy. Experiences at the community level for the optimal use of water resources are spreading all over the country based on successful demonstrations.

2. Background and Justifications: Jerash Governorate (Mohafadha) where the project area is located lies in the north-western part of Jordan and is partly covering the lower part of the Zerqa River basin. The Governorate has an area of 402 km2 (i.e. 0.4% of the total area of Jordan) and a population of 165,000 or about 3.5% of the Jordan population. Even though Jerash Governorate is small in area, it has a considerable diversification in topography. Altitudes range from as low as -200 meters below sea level at King Talal Dam and 250 meters at Jerash Bridge to altitudes as high as 1050 meters near Assfour and Souf where snow fall is frequent in winter. Rainfall occurs in the winter period from October until May, with the main amount

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of rainfall usually falling in the months of December, January, February and March. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall usually happens in December-January. The number of rainy days on average is 40 days per year (Jerash station). Sometimes in winter snow falls in the higher areas around Jerash. According to the prevailing climatic conditions the hydrological year has been chosen to run from October to September. Rain falling on the ground infiltrates into the soil or runs off over the surface to collect in depressions or become part of the stream flow in wadis. The quantity of rainfall which will infiltrate depends on the slope of the terrain, on the infiltration capacity of the soil and on the volume of water already stored in the soil. In Jerash area soils have a good infiltration capacity in general and usually part of the rain water can be stored in the soil, because of the long dry periods between the rains. However, many areas have steep slopes and in such areas a large part of the rainfall will run off as surface water. It is assumed that runoff in this semiarid climate is mostly caused by infiltration excess processes.

3. Objectives: 3.1. To conduct a socio-economical analysis based on available information collected on watershed management in Al-Me’raad, Bab-Amman and Burrma with emphasis on a. Water resources, b. Water supply, c. Water uses in agriculture and its impact on soil quality and erosion, and d. Its impacts on social, economical and community issues.

3.2. To conduct a study survey in Al-Me’raad, Bab-Amman and Burma watershed area using questionnaire dealing independently with each area and presenting separate reports for each area. 3.3. To assess the information collected in the form of reports and projects and consider them in the field study to compare results using techniques such as public meetings, interviews, field visits, monitoring system, workshop etc. 3.4. To identify issues related to Public Awareness in the areas of Al-Me’raad, and to categorize the community stakeholders accordingly. 3.4. To tabulate all the information after statistical analysis which fits in Data Base Excel file.

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4. Methodology:

To conduct these studies, we, as the consultative/scientific team, every one according to his field of expertise: 4.1. Collected information available on water resources, supply, general uses and specific uses in agriculture and its relation with soil quality, water uses in animal agriculture, water management, its health, social and economic impacts. . The consultative team performed these studies relaying on sound scientific methodology to achieve the above-mentioned objectives based on the ToR’s of this study and to help the project director to plan and put forward watershed strategy in areas under study, the major elements of our methodology are:

4.1.1. Literature Review: The consultative/scientific team collected and reviewed the literature available from its resources; in the governmental and nongovernmental organizations, universities, research centres by studying the annual reports, published work and international scientific papers and reports dealing with watershed management in Jerash (Al-Me’raad, Bab-Amman and Burma). In addition, this was accomplished through our visitations to the different electronic sites related to watershed management in Jordan and the region.

4.1.2. Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA): Meetings were held with the directors of water supply, resources, Ministry of water and irrigation for the purpose of obtaining primary information to help designing the questionnaire survey using the recent techniques in the PRA.

4.1.3. Questionnaire Survey: 4.1.3.1. Questionnaire design: The questionnaire was designed in a comprehensive and complete manner covering all the information needed for this study. It was computerized and has four major sections. The questionnaire was sent to the technical committee of the project in Jerash (TCOPJ) and its elements were discussed. We have taken care of all the comments and notes addressed by the technical committee (TCOPJ). Based on this, we modified the questionnaire two times to be compatible with the objectives and the ToR’s of the study and the inspirations and future looks of the committee. 4

This was accomplished in three separate meetings with the technical committee of the project. Furthermore, during the conduction of this study, another modification was requested by the (TCOPJ), based on a request of foreign consultants, on the questionnaires on Jubba area. This was to serve the purpose of collecting socioeconomic information related to future investment project to help the people in the area. We from our side have agreed on the request and additional questions were inserted to the questionnaire related to the Jubba area, as we believe that the committee request was constructive and useful.

The questionnaire has four sections which are: - The First Section / Personal Information: This section contains information related to family members, their levels of education, health status, place of work, monthly salary, average monthly income, nutritional status, spending,…….etc.

- The Second Section / Housing and Public Services: This section contains information framed in 120 questions. Some are related to the type and area of housing status and role of women, level of education, health status of families, water resources, uses, quantities, transportation and quality used. In addition, it includes number of water springs and ways of using the water from these springs in agriculture houses, cleaning and industries………etc. It also contains information on land ownership and its uses.

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The Third Section / Uses of Lands and Agricultural Lands:

It contains information related to the type of crops, area cultivated, annual income from these activities, agricultural by-products, number of olive mills and their impacts on environment, waste water, uses and agricultural problems in the area.

- The Fourth Section / Livestock and Poultry Farms: This section contains information on the numbers, species of animal, and animal farms, animal feeds, management and their impacts on environment, methods of supplying drinking water to their animals, methods of marketing their products and related problems, methods of handling animal waste and uses as fertilizers before and after treatment.

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The questionnaire included also the following major topics: A- General Domain: -

Present status of watershed management in the study area. Types of water supplies and resources. Main obstacles in securing a sustained resource of clean water to provide for irrigation and food security. Environmental and hygienic criteria.

B- Socio-economic Domain: -

The social status of the people in the target groups. The economical status of the people in the target groups. The role of woman in the whole project. The present educational status of the people in the target groups. The present health status of the people in the target groups. The existing educational levels of the target group. The existing hygienic levels of the target groups. The existing environmental conditions for watershed management in Jerash with emphasis on the target area. The contribution of the water project and its uses in poverty alleviation and unemployment. Quality and quantity of water used. Expected benefit to the community. Investment promotion programs. Demands. Pricing Strategy of water. Technical profile (site, manpower, buildings, running cost and other factors of production. Transportation cost. Capabilities of the technical personnel and the users of the water.

4.1.3.2. Testing of the questionnaire: Following the preparation of the questionnaire, our team tested the questionnaire in the field for its goodness, validity and reliability. This was achieved through a pilot study of appropriate sample size. After the pilot study, we hired and trained technical people by organizing a small workshop. Some of them were from the target group in the three areas. We conducted the survey as planned after the needed changes in the questionnaire were made. Also we determined the people to be interviewed and asked to fill the questionnaire. A consultative member of the main team was joining the team who filled up the questionnaire. A random representative sample was chosen

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from the families in the target groups reaching up to 10% of the whole population depending on the total size and homogeneity of the people using the theories of the probabilities, (Scientific Random Sampling, SRS) and Cluster Method Sampling. We with the (TCOPJ) agreed to have the α-error to be 5% and the confidence interval around the population mean to be 3% in estimating the sample size.

4.1.3.3. Filling up the questionnaire: Once the questionnaires were filled and completed, the collected information was interred into a program which is designed for this purpose in the computer using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The number of questionnaires from different areas and their geographical location are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1 for Al-Me’raad area.

4.1.3.4. Data Analysis and Tabulation: The data after cleaning, editing and coding was analyzed using SPSS.

Indicators to be used: 1. Socio-economic: -

Family income Unemployment Women participation Income resources Immigration of people to and from the area Type of housing The basic needs in the house (water, electricity, bathrooms … etc) Roads, transportation means…etc. Luxury means, TV, clubs…etc. Population in the area and their sex and age distribution…. etc. Number of wives, age of the wife, size of the family, divorce…. etc. Education of the members of the families Professions of the members of the families Types of products they produce How they market their products

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Land and animal holding And many others

2. Health and Environmental Indicators: Presence of health centres and primary health services Infectious diseases Neonatal deaths Nutrition status Water resources Dental hygiene Vaccinations Diseases, insects, plants and animal biodiversity, animal farms, health and sufficient water…etc. - And many others -

3. Educational indicators: Schools, females at school, teachers, distance of school from houses,… etc. Figure (1) A map of the 3 watershed areas under study.

Me’raad on the map stands for Al-Me’raad 8

Table (1) Population and Number of Families and Watersheds Areas under Study, Al-Me’raad 2005.

Location Al-Me’raad

Total

Community Population Sakib

10272

Rimun

6282

Nahleh

3164

Al-Kitta

5851

Jamla AlHaddadeh

749 2224

Al-Majdal

600

Dibbin

39

Amama

146

Zaqreet

339

Najda

256 29922

Systematic No. of No. of Random Families Questionnaires Sampling 1 family / 147 10 families 1595 1 family / 88 11 families 981 1 family / 46 10 families 482 1 family / 947 84 11 families 1 family / 121 12 12 families 1 family / 357 29 11 families 1 family / 112 8 14 families 1 family / 14 0 14 families 1 family / 30 0 15 families 1 family / 58 4 14 families 1 family / 4 10 families 41 4738

422

There was a slight discrepancy in the population in some of the communities and some administrative belonging of the communities. To clarify this, the numbers of questionnaires in the column are the actual field-surveyed questionnaires which were analyzed and their results are presented in the result section.

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5. Results: 5.1. Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Samples Results obtained from the questionnaire showed that in many villages in the area, the majority of the household heads share the same last name while in others all the household heads have the same last name. The social composition of the three watersheds (Bab-Amman, Burma and Al-Me’raad) is characterized by a homogeneous rural peasant society. In Al-Me'raad and Burma linked tightly together by family and clans strong kinship relationships and Bedouins (Bani Hasan) society transferred to rural communities in Bab-Amman /Mastabah watershed. Another development was introduced in 1967 in the form of a huge immigration flux to Al-Me'raad watershed. These immigrants consider this refuge as temporary with high feelings of alienation. Local and international political implications were hurdles against effective measures for improving living conditions of these refugees which results in a stress upon the limited resources. The main important socio-economic characteristics of the household heads' and wives' samples in Bab-Amman watershed area is summarized in the following way: The main important socio-economic characteristics of the household heads' and wives' samples might be summarized in the following way:

5.1.1- Age of the samples' members: Life expectancy in Jordan is 68.8 years and 71 years for males and females, respectively which is lower when compared to Jordan, while in Jerash Governorate is 65 years for males and 69.6 years for females. Infant mortality rate in Jerash (per 1000) is 45.4 for males and 32.6 for females. In Jordan it is 30.8, and 27.6 for males and females respectively which is lower than Jerash. Detailed information regarding life expectancy and infant mortality is not available for Al-Me’raad watershed area. So for the purpose of this study we consider those figures of Jerash. Analyses of our data showed that the most important findings is that there were no household heads in the age group of less than 22 years old while there were 13 of the sampled households’ wives in the age group of 22 years and less. The percentage of the household heads in the age group 60 years and over, was almost 3 times that of the data wives (17.8to 6.9) respectively (Table 2). The clear observation of this is that more females get married at a younger age than males, and there are more aged-persons in the household heads sample than in

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the wives. Getting a female married at an early age is one of the most influential cultural values in rural Jordanian. The percentage distribution of the households and wives in the samples are almost equal for the age groups 30 -50 years old. Table (2) Relative Distribution of Sampled Household Heads’ and Wives’ Age, Al- Me'raad, 2005.* **

HH Heads

N % < 19 2 0.4 19-21 11 2.8 22-24 3 0.7 24 5.9 25- 29 29 7.1 56 13.9 30-34 53 13 52 12.9 35-39 58 14.3 62 15.5 40-44 61 14.9 64 15.8 45-49 60 14.8 54 13.4 50-54 50 12.1 29 7.3 55-59 22 5.3 21 5.1 60-64 29 7.0 15 3.5 65-69 21 5.1 11 2.7 > 70 24 5.7 3 0.7 410 100 404 100 Total Average age of household heads (HH heads) was 45.82 + (SD=13.02) years and that of the wives was 39 + (SD=11.91) years. * NOTE: total number of questionnaires of Al-Me’raad is 422. ** HH wherever it comes, it means household. Age

N

Wives

%

5.1.2. Family size: Average family size in Jordan is relatively high (5.8), and slightly higher among rural populations (6.2).The population density (person/km) is 59.6. The population growth rate is 2.8% and the rate of natural increase (RNI) is 2.4% (Department of Statistics, DOS, 2002). Data in Table (3) showed that about half of the household heads had up to six members in their families, and the other half having seven and more family members. About 14.5% of the total samples have eleven family members and more. The range of family members in the sample is from 1 to 15 persons, and the total member of persons was 3974. The average family size in the household heads' sample was 6.95 + (SD= 3.15) persons.

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Table (3) Distribution of the Family Size in the Household Heads’ Sample, Al- Me'raad 2005.

Family Size