International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Jordan Valley

In September 2012, the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) organized a seminar in Amman, Jordan as part of a three-year, EU-funded “SWIM-JR Transboundary Master Planning of the Lower Jordan River (LJR) Basin” project. The aim of the seminar was to review and solicit support to the initial work of the consultancy firm drafting a Regional Master Plan for the Rehabilitation of the Lower Jordan River. During the three day seminar, expert feedback was provided by Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli government representatives, parliamentarians and experts, as well as key international and regional organizations, and the project implementation partners: Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME)/ WEDO the Global Nature Fund (GNF) and SIWI.

Since then, the project team has identified economically feasible interventions that contribute to sustainable development and peace building in the region.

To provide an overview of the challenges, solutions and priority interventions, SIWI is arranging an international conference on sustainable development to highlight critical opportunities for the international community to partner with regional authorities in the Jordan Valley. The conference will bring together an estimated one hundred high-level international and regional organizations, as well as government officials from Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority to the Kempinski Hotel, between the 10^th and the 12^th of November, 2014.

During the conference, participants will discuss the environmental, social, legal, political, economic, financial and regional impacts on the basin’s sustainable development in a forward-looking atmosphere focusing on practicality and cutting-edge solutions – where the Lower Jordan River is focused on as a life stream of the region.