In Jordan, natural resources face compounding risks. The country’s scarce water resources are over-exploited resulting in water quality challenges especially salinization of groundwater due to declining water levels. The effects of climate change on rainfall are likely to lead to even greater water scarcity and desertification. Poor farming practices, overgrazing, and deforestation are affecting forests and rangelands, which play an important role in both adaptation and climate change mitigation in Jordan and are crucial safety nets for poor communities in times of economic or climatic stress. Further pressures come from human activities such as air emissions, mainly from transportation and energy generation, and solid and hazardous waste that are leading to contamination of land and groundwater resources and causing health impacts, especially in Amman. The Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) of the World Bank was launched in October 2018 and applies to all Investment Project Financing (IPF) operations. The ESF is an important evolution in protecting people and the environment through the projects financed by the Bank. This report is part of an Advisory Service and Analytics (ASA) initiated in December 2020. The World Bank has initiated a number of similar ASAs in different countries as part of the Bank’s efforts to build the capacity of its partners to facilitate the implementation of the ESF. The objective of this ASA is to analyze existing environmental risks and vulnerabilities in selected Mashreq countries (this report focuses on Jordan), assess the national environmental framework and institutional capacity, and develop targeted recommendations for strengthening it in line with the ESF requirements. The report addresses six of the ten Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs).
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