AMBASSADOR PROMISES JORDAN CONTINUING SUPPORT ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004965

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR NEA/RA LAWSON, OES/PCI PAYNE, OES/ENV RICHARD
STATE PASS USAID EGAT WILSON
STATE PASS USEPA, OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

E.O. 12598: N/A
TAGS: SENV EAID PGOV JO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR PROMISES JORDAN CONTINUING SUPPORT ON
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES



1. (SBU) SUMMARY. In an introductory call on the new
Minister of Environment, Dr. Hisham Gharaibeh, the
Ambassador gave his assurances that the U.S. would continue
to support Jordan's environmental objectives. Among these,
both agreed that building the country's environmental
management capacity and supporting projects and activities
that would enhance the new ministry's regulatory and
enforcement capabilities rank highly. The Ambassador urged
Gharaibeh to focus with the Minister of Industry and Trade
on the timing and agenda of the proposed Joint Environmental
Forum. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) In an August 5 courtesy call on the new Minister of
Environment, Dr. Hisham Gharaibeh, the Ambassador
acknowledged the challenges that lay ahead for Jordan to
protect its environment. He reassured Gharaibeh that the
U.S. would continue its active engagement on environmental
issues, including funding not only the larger infrastructure
projects, such as water and wastewater treatment plants, but
also smaller technical assistance and training activities.
Gharaibeh was grateful for the ongoing U.S. support, but
repeatedly raised Jordan's desire for additional assistance
in this sector. "We'll count on you," he said. The
minister added that one of the greatest challenges he faces
will be to carve out the new ministry's domain and
relationship with potentially competing ministries, such as
Water and Irrigation, Health, and Agriculture.


3. (SBU) Turning to the Joint Environmental Forum, the
Ambassador explained the background of this FTA commitment
to Gharaibeh and encouraged him to coordinate closely with
the new Minister of Industry and Trade, Mohammad Abu
Hammour, to identify an appropriate time and develop the
agenda for the event. Gharaibeh, thinking aloud, suggested
that October may represent an opportunity to host the event,
but promised to check with his Industry and Trade
counterpart to reconfirm. The Ambassador impressed upon the
minister the importance of this bilateral environmental
dialog, noting that the Jordan FTA was the fist such
agreement to introduce an environmental element and
Washington policymakers were keen to follow its progress.


4. (SBU) The USAID Acting Mission Director and Water
Resources and Environment Officer briefed Gharaibeh on
environmental projects that USAID is supporting in Jordan.
Notable among these are medical waste management, hazardous
waste management, reclaimed water reuse in agricultural and
industrial applications, rehabilitation of a phosphate mine,
and broad public awareness campaigns. The NEA Regional
Environment Officer added that an upcoming EPA-facilitated
multilateral (Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli) training
activity on hazardous waste management complements USAID's
objective and helps to build the capacity of his ministry's
personnel. Gharaibeh was appreciative of the U.S.
assistance on hazardous waste and lamented the state of the
Suwaqa hazardous waste site, a quasi-white elephant of a
facility in the remote Jordan desert. While some of the
basic infrastructure is in place, he related, Suwaqa
requires significant capital investment (including the
incinerators) and a management plan to make it operational.


5. (SBU) When asked about his priorities for the Ministry of
Environment, Gharaibeh told us he would be aggressively
seeking international donor funding, as his budget is quite
small. Recognizing his limited resources, he hopes to
create public/private partnerships to work on pressing
environmental issues. Developing better working
relationships with complementary ministries, such as Health,
Water and Irrigation, and Agriculture, are also high on his
agenda. Gharaibeh noted that for years, without an
environmental entity of cabinet status, other ministries had
"poached" many of the issues that "rightfully belong" to the
Ministry of Environment and he needed to better define the
new lines of responsibility. The laws are clear, he said,
but enforcement and implementation are weak.


6. (SBU) The Ambassador told Gharaibeh that we hoped to
recruit an EPA official to come to Jordan for several months
to assist the Ministry of Environment in developing the most
efficient and effective organizational structure to confront
the environmental issues particular to Jordan. Gharaibeh
noted that the proposed organizational structure assessment
may need a specialized contractor to be able to do a
thorough and in-depth job.


7. (SBU) BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON HISHAM GHARAIBEH. Until
his appointment as Minister of Environment at the end of
July, Dr. Hisham Gharaibeh served as Vice President of
Yarmouk University, Jordan, since 2000. Prior to that he
was a professor at the Department of Finance and Banking at
Yarmouk University from 1979-2000. Gharaibeh has also
worked as the Head of the Consultancy Department at the Arab
Organization for Administrative Development (League of Arab
States) from 1987-1991, in addition to doing consulting for
several Arab and international organizations, such as the
IMF. While his experience in matters of environmental
affairs is arguably limited, his extensive managerial
background may help the nascent ministry to develop the
proper infrastructure and recruit the most qualified
personnel. Gharaibeh was born in Irbid in 1948. He holds a
BSc in Commerce from the University of Alexandria, Egypt, an
MBA from the University of Dallas, Texas, and a PhD in
Financial Management from the University of Texas. He was a
teaching assistant at the University of Texas from 1975-

1979.

HALE