Natural resource governance in light of the 2030 Agenda - The case of competition for groundwater in Azraq, Jordan

Project description

The 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relies on five core principles, (1) universality, (2) leave no one behind, (3) indivisibility & interconnectedness of SDGs, (4) inclusiveness, and (5) multi-stakeholder partnerships. An integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda hence requires the mobilization of synergies and the mitigation of trade-offs between economic, social and ecological dimensions of sustainable development. This can be a particular challenge when it comes to the governance of natural resources. In many rural-urban settings, trade-offs can be observed between SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 15 (life on land). Particularly in water-scarce countries, the question arises as to how water use among different sectors can be governed in line with the 2030 Agenda principles.

Within the DIE research project “Growth, Environment, Inequality, Governance: Implementation of the 2030 Agenda” funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Jordan has been selected as one of four case studies to study this question. Jordan is one of the world’s most water scarce countries. One geographical area, where agricultural, domestic and environmental users compete for limited groundwater resources, is Azraq in Eastern Jordan. According to official data, in 2017 total water abstraction exceeded the safe yield of the aquifer almost threefold.

Against this background, the project seeks to answer the following questions:

1. Which factors influence decisions of groundwater users in Azraq?

2. What are resulting trade-offs and synergies between relevant SDGs?

3. To what extent does groundwater governance in Azraq reflect the 2030 Agenda‘s core principles?

4. What are implications for the integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda?

In order to map institutional factors that influence decisions of groundwater users we primarily build upon the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework (IAD) developed by Nobel Price Laureate Elinor Ostrom. Based on this mapping and the analysis of competing SDGs, we seek to analyse in how far the core principles are reflected in groundwater governance. On this basis, we will identify entry points on how to improve natural resource governance in the light of the 2030 Agenda.

The research project will be implemented in close cooperation with two Jordanian partner institutes – the Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM) and the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) Institute.