The Project ended but the work still goes on!

(Following is a translation of a news article that appeared in theArabic Jordanian Daily News Paper "Al Rai" on March 6th, 2008)

The EMPOWERS project in partnership with the Balqa Governorate completed the first phase of the establishment of an integrated water information management system (WIMS) by gathering information and data and information on poverty, water uses, water supply [and sanitation] services, agricultural production, and health from nine key government departments. These departments included: the Balqa Governorate; the Directorates of Social Development, Environment, Health, Agriculture, The Water Authority, Jordan Valley Authority, local communities, and the Department of Statistics, in addition to extracting data from reports published by other directorates. The WIMS project aims at collecting and consolidating water-related data to support decision making and to use it for planning and policy formulation for community water resources development, in addition to monitor and evaluate current services.

During a meeting to discuss the progress of the WIMS project, Governor Sameh Al-Majali, highlighted the importance of having a common, shared and agreed upon information system present among the different departments in the Balqa Governorate as they develop development plans and budgets; making coordination and management of the water the more effective and efficient. As well as enhancing water information and data management in the Balqa Governorate, and the system will be accessible to the beneficiaries in local communities, the public and private sectors, and NGOs.

The Balqa Governorate suffers from water resources scarcity, underground water depletion, lack of awareness, illegal use of water, absence of sanitation networks in some areas, and weak and inefficient local management of the water resources. All of which make the WIMS project at the Governorate the more important. The Governorate project has two phases. The first was to develop a vision for water sector in Balqa Governorate, as well as develop strategic water development plan to achieve that vision. Based on these plans, the second phase, identified 3 pilot projects to be implemented by the different partners in the Governorate and local communities.

The first of these 3 pilot projects is the WIMS, which is being implemented by the Governorate with support from CARE – Jordan [EMPOWERS Partnership] with an estimated cost of 100 000 Jordanian Dinars. Other projects that have been implemented in governorate through the EMPOWERS partnership over the past couple of years were: A 30 000 Dinars for a community-water project in Subaihi village and another 10 000 as a revolving fund for the village, in addition to rehabilitating Subaihi and Hajjaj springs. In Ruweiha, 2 000 Dinars for the village water project and a revolving fund of 25 000 Dinars for small income generating projects. In Um Ayyash village, a water and sanitation management improvement project was implemented in two phases (40 000 Dinars for the first phase, and 10 000 for the second. A 65 000 Dinar project to extend an irrigation canal to irrigate the income generating home gardens Damiya Village. In addition to pilots implemented in Rmaimeen village (25 000 Dinars) and Tal Al Manteh village (25 000).

All of the above pilots that have been implemented in the Governorate and its villages aim at improving access to water by the poor and marginalised, empowering them to integrate better in their community through awareness raising, capacity building, and engaging them in problem identification, visioning, strategising and planning activities address the challenges they face in managing the available scarce water resources...