The Jordanian Sustainable Consumption and Production National Action Plan (SCP-NAP) was developed under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment in Jordan under the EU funded SwitchMed programme, with advisory services and technical support from the United Nations Environment Programme. The Plan is part of Jordan’s efforts to achieve Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. The SCP-NAP (SDG 12.1) addresses three priority areas: (i) Agriculture/food production, (ii) Transport, and (iii) Waste management sectors and was developed in Jordan through a multi-stakeholder nationally driven process with over 300 participants. SCP-NAP was also translated into Arabic.
Switch to Circular Economy:
Under SwitchMed II, a short document "How Jordan is switching to a Circular Economy" was prepared to present an overview on how the country is implementing activities/policies/programs on SCP and Circular Economy. In this document you will see 10 success stories inspired by the work of SwitchMed in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. They show how what began in workshops developed into plans that created a ripple that flowed out around the country. This short publication shows that opportunities for countries from sustainable consumption and production are rich and varied.
Jordan has developed comprehensive plans to mainstream SCP at all levels of society. The country developed a National Green Growth road map and action plan which has been endorsed by the national Cabinet. During the coronavirus pandemic, Jordan has worked to study the environmental impact on resources, air quality and waste generation. Many campaigns educated citizens on the best disposal options for hazardous and medical waste to limit the spread of the virus. Green Jordan is one of the most important axes and objectives of the economic modernization vision 2033, which was announced under the auspices of His Majesty. This vision aims to unleash all potentials in Jordan towards sustainable economic development, by focusing on the principle of sustainability and green transformation. Significant work has also been done on plastic waste reduction, and on reducing plastic in marine litter, and this resulted in the Plastic Shopping Bags Bylaw No. (45) for the year 2017, which aims at reducing the amount of single-use plastic bags used by consumers around the country.
In-country activities:
The implementing partners - Ministry of Environment and EDAMA (Association for Energy, Water and Environment) coordinated two projects: Improving solid waste management in the Aqaba hotel industry and developing a national solid waste management training program.
Turning the waste into an asset in the Aqaba hotel industry: The purpose of the project was to pilot the institutionalization of solid waste management concepts and practices in the hotel industry in Aqaba to reduce the amounts of waste generated while adopting sustainable solid waste management practices. The relevant hotel staff’s capacity was built to support in the sustainability of the project. To ensure the replication of the project in other touristic areas in Jordan and the expansion of the project, EDAMA selected the pilot hotels who have branches in other areas like Petra and Dead Sea: (i) InterContinental Aqaba Resort; (ii) Movenpick Aqaba; (iii) Double Tree by Hilton; and (iv) Kempinski Aqaba.
Empowerment of Women: A special focus was put on increasing empowerment of women by incorporating the local community in recycling/up-cycling activities. Several up-cycling training sessions for CBOs were held targeting women living in Aqaba city and the surrounding areas. The participants were trained on how to produce crafts from waste. These workshops achieved four main goals: (i) women empowerment, (ii) local community support, (iii) sharing of new approaches for solid waste management on waste up-cycling and (iv) provide a potential source of income for women and their families.
Eco-innovation in SMEs: Co-financed by SAICM Quick Start Programme and UNEP it aimed at promoting non-chemical alternatives or less hazardous alternatives in the Jordanian industry, through the implementation of UNEP’s eco-Innovation approach in SMEs. It improved capacities of SMEs to reduce risks of use of chemicals and move towards the replacement of chemicals in products and processes by less hazardous ones and to develop economically viable products and processes that are sustainable and less hazardous on the long term.
Under SwitchMed II, UNEP is collaborating with Jordan on
- Food waste and textile national dialogue;
- Blue Economy dialogue;
- Green Tourism Camps in Wadi Rum;
- Development of policy recommendations and projects fiches.
